Johnny Woodard
Staff Reporter
Fighting Scots fans worried that repairs to Pate Stadium might not be completed in time for football season can relax.
County Manager Kevin Patterson said Friday that the project is on schedule and on budget.
Following a meeting with Florence Concrete Products Inc., the same firm that built the $450,000 stadium back in 1979, Patterson was able to confirm that “repairs will be completed on budget, at a cost of $129,000.”
The county budgeted $130,000 for the project last month, but there were worries that project costs may end up exceeding the budgeted amount.
“Our budget overall was tight,” said Patterson, adding that it “was definitely a relief to learn that the stadium can be fixed for the initially estimated amount.”
According to Roger Ammons, maintenance director for the school system, the repairs will begin on July 16 and take “three to five weeks to complete.”
“But they said they feel like they will finish it in three,” Ammons said.
Ammons said that the county “dodged a bullet” when it was determined by the repair firm that a crane would not need to be brought in for the job.
“That was the first thing they said, and we were happy because that would have run the costs way up,” Ammons said.
Scotland High School’s first home game of the 2012 season is scheduled for Aug. 17, and Ammons said that he has been “ensured by contractor that it will be ready before that time.”
“That was the main concern I heard from the many people who have asked me about the stadium — that it be ready for football season,” Ammons said.
Shifting of the stadium’s concrete main stand was first noticed by Scotland High School maintenance workers in June.
“No one is really sure what caused it, but it could be simply the fans jumping in stands or the rumble of the train passing by,” said Ammons, who believes that the damage occurred gradually.
“We were just lucky that the damage wasn’t discovered during the football season, because it was something that, while not immediately unsafe, had to be fixed,” Ammons said.
If the construction firm’s estimates hold true, Ammons said that the 30-year-old stadium still has lots of life left in it.
“They did tell us that the stadium appeared to be in good shape overall and that it probably has a lifespan of another 35 to 50 years.”
Post a Comment
