Arriving at the first home game of the season, students were confused to see that the student section bleachers were covered with caution tape. Yellow cones blocked off the top rows of all bleachers, limiting the home section capacity to 40% of what it usually is.
The bleachers broke last season, during the final home game of the season against Oviedo, when a severe structural fault was created under the walkway, making the bleachers unusable for the rest of the school year and forcing game attendees to watch from the away section.
The expectation was that the project would be completed over the summer in time for the start of the new school year and fall sports season, but this project’s deadline was continuously postponed. The bleachers are now expected to be completed by Oct. 1 at the earliest, with a deadline of Nov. 1 at the latest.
“Insurance was involved with the district, which really caused the hold-up in completing the bleachers. The majority of the time between when they broke and now has been us waiting for the insurance policy to be settled,” athletic director Jay Getty said.
Since Hagerty is still the newest high school in the district, funding for upgrades is not easy to come by, making it difficult for maintenance projects to be fulfilled. In conjunction with this, promised timelines and completion dates for several facilities projects around Hagerty continue to be broken and changed, upsetting sports families, coaches, athletes and fans.
“I wish that the necessary steps would be taken to fix the student section bleachers because football games are a big part of our senior year. Due to the lack of space, it’s really hard to enjoy with everyone crammed next to each other,” senior Neha Kabir said.
Since the student section had to be moved to where the band normally sits, bleachers had to be rented and placed behind the east end zone in order to make space for both the band and students, inconveniencing all in the process.
“The [temporary] bleachers are a lot more unstable than the usual ones. With the band moving and dancing around so much, it’s hard to stop our music and water bottles from falling under the stands,” band senior Ivy Browning said.
Bleacher repairs are not the only stadium project that is delayed, as projects to replace the track surface and field turf have been impacted as well. These two projects are part of the Sam Momary Stadium’s improvement plan and have been in development for about five years. The track surface is supposed to be upgraded, with a projected completion date from the end of December to the middle of January before the beginning of the track season.
“Lack of funding was really the major source of the delay. You can pick a target date, but if you don’t have the money to complete the project, you can’t move forward,” Getty said.
By not having this rubber track component, Hagerty cannot host home track meets, which is a big loss of revenue for the athletics program.
“We have been told every year about the plans for the new track and are [repeatedly] told it’s coming soon, but there still has been zero progress. It is honestly quite aggravating” track senior Casey Costa said.
While the repairs to the bleachers were an unexpected cost, other upgrades to the facility have been in the works for years. Installing a new rubber surface to the track is now a feasible task, as money from the school and fundraising has finally reached a sufficient amount and is able to cover the project.
The next upgrade on the lineup is with the turf itself, but it is still pending until the necessary funds are raised. These upgrade projects’ timelines can vary greatly depending on the funding backing them and the necessity of the project’s completion. Major projects like these are first approved at the district level, then funds have to be raised in order for the project to even be on the books to be completed.
