Home stands at East Ridge coming down

Crumbling concrete is seen at Raymond James Stadium at East Ridge High School on Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, in East Ridge, Tenn.
Crumbling concrete is seen at Raymond James Stadium at East Ridge High School on Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, in East Ridge, Tenn.

STADIUM WOES

Other Hamilton County schools — Soddy-Daisy High, East Hamilton Middle-High and the Howard School, to name a few — have long dealt with inadequate or missing athletic facilities, a 2013 Times Free Press story found. The Howard School was given land for a new stadium but faced the task of raising money for construction. In that stadium, raw sewage bubbled up near the restrooms and the track was so damaged the school couldn’t host track meets.

The condemned and crumbling home-side stands of East Ridge High School's Raymond James Stadium are coming down, prompting inspections of other, older stadium stands in Hamilton County.

East Ridge coaches will be moving from their offices under the stands. Locker rooms and the training room there also will be vacated as soon as possible, after word came down that the structure cannot be saved.

Lee McDade, assistant superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, confirmed Wednesday that the facility will be demolished.

"Structural engineers have determined that the condition of the East Ridge High School stadium has deteriorated beyond the point at which remediation and renovation is possible and still be economically feasible," he said.

Structural engineers reported after an inspection that the stadium should not be occupied and should be demolished, McDade said. That goes beyond the original condemnation order from the city of East Ridge, which determined that the facilities under the home stands could continue to be used.

The condemnation by East Ridge city officials last week has prompted the school system to inspect older stands elsewhere in the county. McDade said he didn't have the list at hand, but said he was "90 percent sure" that Howard School and Tyner High School are on it.

"We are sending structural engineers to other sites we're concerned about," McDade said Wednesday afternoon.

It was on McDade's recommendation that East Ridge coach Tracy Malone moved the Pioneers' first home game of the season Friday (vs. Signal Mountain). Malone secured permission from Baylor to use its facility to handle the anticipated audience.

"Signal Mountain will probably have a large crowd, and we didn't think (the) visiting stands at East Ridge could accommodate both schools' fans," McDade said. "As for future games, those decisions will be made on a game-by-game basis. The field itself is fine and playable. It will depend on the size of the anticipated crowd for each game."

Amid other pressing issues, Malone is investigating the possibility of acquiring temporary bleachers for future home games.

"We're going to try to continue and play here," he said. "We want to play here because that's what's best for the kids."

After returning from a logistics/game day planning meeting at Baylor, Malone on Wednesday was moving the football office out of the stadium to an office in the gym. He said work was underway to clear equipment and lockers.

"We'll tell the kids this afternoon before practice, and then start getting equipment out of the locker room and from there we'll make the best of it," he said. "We're happy to know what we need to do, and we'll try to keep the kids locked in and focused on what they have to do Friday night."

The facility should be empty no later than a week from today, but there is no definitive date for demolition.

While fall break (Oct. 5-9) may be a target, McDade's office will have to solicit bids and then get them approved by the school board. The initial thought was to recommend demolition to the school board at its meeting this month. However, school board members were informed of the stadium issues and the need for demolition late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

McDade indicated that design and replacement of the stadium will be discussed at a later date.

He added, however, that the school will not be left to its own devices.

"Finances are being discussed with the school board, but is East Ridge going to be stuck with it? No," he said.

Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd estimated the demolition cost at around $200,000.

The cost of new bleachers is an unknown for now.

The stadium at East Ridge has had its share of problems over the past three decades.

Former East Ridge coach Gary Partrick, who served for seven seasons as an assistant to Raymond James and is now the golf coach at Baylor, said he asked as far back as the 1992 or 1993 season that the home bleachers - constructed in 1959 - be condemned. Steel beams had been installed in 1984 to shore up sagging concrete, Partrick said.

"We had to replace the carpet and repaint every year - the coaches' office, the locker rooms and the training room - because the stadium leaked so bad. The rain would run right down the walls," he said. "The stadium was bad, but the playing surface was the best there was."

Regardless of past problems, Malone said the current school administration wasted no time in addressing present issues.

"They've jumped in on this with both feet, and they're doing the best they can to help us," he said.

Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.

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