By Kim Siebert MacPhail
Bedford Schools’ Athletic Director Keith Mangan presented a variety of options for replacing the press box and visitors’ bleachers at Sabourin Field to the School Committee during their first meeting of the academic year on September 10. At issue are the former press box, deemed unsafe by the Facilities and Code Enforcement departments prior to last fall’s football season, and the visitors’ bleachers, which were removed to accommodate an expanded, eight-lane track that is part of the soon-to-be-completed artificial turf field project.
Of the two projects, Mangan said that a replacement press box is the higher priority. Before presenting two options for a replacement structure, Mangan said that the former press box, made from “mostly-donated” materials, was originally constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers. When it was found to be structurally unsound, a lift was rented last fall for the crew that would otherwise have occupied the press box: a game official/referee, an announcer, two coaches and a Bedford TV camera technician. The cost of the lift rental was about $3,600 last season. Mangan has rented a lift again for this season—it will arrive next week—since it will take time to consider more permanent press box replacement options.
“It meets our need,” said Mangan of the rented lift, “and we felt we needed something. This worked out pretty well last year, but going forward this wouldn’t be a good idea because we’re having a new track put in and driving the lift on the track will destroy it.”
Addressing concerns that School Committee members raised when replacing the old press box was first discussed last spring, Mangan said that the new artificial turf field—and the press box—will be used by a greater number of sports teams and for more events than in the past.
“Part of the reason we want to have a press box—and I acknowledge the fact that it’s a large sum of money [for something] that only a few people will use at any given time—is that it benefits a lot more than just those five or six people [who are actually in the structure],” Mangan explained.
“This field is going to be used now for all of our varsity soccer games, all of our JV and varsity field hockey games, all levels of football. In the spring, it will be used by both boys’ and girls’ home lacrosse games,” Mangan said. “We’re going to be using this field in all weather. We went out there the day they did a drainage test with the turf which is rated for 16 inches of [rain] in an hour, and the under-surface, which is rated for 40 inches of rain in an hour. Unless we need to bring an Ark in, we’re going for it—we’ll be on the field. The only reason we would not play a game is if there is thunder and lightning.”
Mangan said that it is “very important to have an elevated station that is away from fans” so that the game official operating the time clock can clearly see the entire field and the scoreboard. A press box is also needed for events like state track meets because it acts as a central hub for officials. Relay for Life, Mangan added, has customarily used the press box to announce from because from that vantage point organizers are able “to see the entire complex and what’s going on at all times.”
When School Committee Chair Ed Pierce asked if other high schools managed without a press box, Mangan said he couldn’t think of any that did.
Mangan presented two press box designs. The preferred and lesser-priced option hovers around the $100,000 mark and includes the structure itself, the concrete pad foundation, an understructure, and electrical wiring. The total cost, however, does not include an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-compliant lift, which adds another $30,000-$40,000 to the final cost. Mangan said that Ipswich recently received a temporary, 2-year waiver to postpone adding a lift when it installed a new press box, thus spreading the impact of the project’s cost.
As for the visitors’ bleachers, Mangan said that there are three options: outright replacement, use of transportable bleachers, or rental of bleachers. A variety of styles and seating capacities were presented, but no course of action was determined.
As a next step, Mangan said he would address School Committee members’ questions such as what is the life expectancy of a new press box; is a rent-to-own the visitors’ bleachers scenario possible; are either of the two projects eligible for Community Preservation funds, as much of the artificial turf field project was? School Committee member Abbie Seibert said that the timing of Mangan’s research was fortuitous since capital projects and Community Preservation projects are now being discussed for the upcoming budget year.
Before ending his presentation, Mangan announced that a rededication of Sabourin Field—potentially to be renamed “Sabourin Stadium”—is planned prior to the kick-off of the first home football game at 6 pm on Friday, September 27. Mangan reported that more information about the dedication ceremony will be forthcoming from Selectman Mike Rosenberg.
To read The Citizen’s article about last June’s presentation, visit: https://thebedfordcitizen.org/2013/06/17/mudge-fund-considered-for-press-box-study-and-design/
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