New visitors side bleachers at H.A. Lynn Stadium to seat 1,000 people

In stark contrast to the Newton school district’s baseball field restrooms and concessions stand project, the designs for the visitors side bleachers project at H.A. Lynn Stadium were approved without a hitch. Estimates show the total cost of the project will be about $733,000, still well within the $800,000 budget.

Rachelle Hines of FRK Architects + Engineers told district officials at the April 28 school board meeting that the design development plans for the bleachers resulted from user group meetings comprised of staff and community members. Their perspectives laid out the groundwork for the architectural designs.

“We’ve added stairs on both sides, north and south of the bleachers themselves,” Hines said. “The reason why is the district is going to add a walkway along the north side of the stadium there. So it will allow people to be able to walk around it and then walk into that direction. You can access these from two different sides.”

The ramp to the bleachers will still be on the south side, which is where most patrons enter the stadium. Currently, the bleacher designs fit 1,000 seats. The architectural firm is also proposing an alternate bid for a new press box on the visitors side bleachers. Hines said a lot of group discussion focused on storage.

“Underneath those existing bleachers we have lots of storage that’s currently being used by the sports out there. We cannot have storage under the new bleachers that is combustible,” Hines said, noting a solution may be possible. “… Right now, the district is looking to add a larger building just to the south.”

The new bleachers would essentially remain in the same “footprint” as the existing bleachers. Hines said the new bleachers will be ADA accessible.

Which means handrails will be added.

Lack of handrails was a point of concern for Newton resident Tom Hollander, whose pleas to school board members kickstarted the visitors side bleachers project. Hollander said he and his wife would sit in the east side bleachers to watch football games at H.A. Lynn Stadium. But it was getting harder.

School board members responded by authorizing $800,000 in SAVE (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education) funds to replace the bleachers and make them more handicap accessible. Improving accessibility has been a frequent topic in school board meetings this past year.

Hines said the user group discussions mentioned adding more handicap parking spots at the stadium. School board member Kristi Meyer said that making H.A. Lynn Stadium accessible is great, but “people can’t get there.” As someone who frequents the stadium, Meyer said it is the No. 1 complaint she hears.

“People are having to be dropped off and everything like that because it is not accessible,” Meyer said. “And I just don’t think that we should continue to throw that. Honestly, I would rather we get people to the field than be able to get them seated. We can’t seat them if we can’t get them there.”

To her, adding more handicap parking is a higher priority than the bleachers.

“I don’t want to throw a lot of money at a whole new set of bleachers and then have none of the handicap people come to the event because it’s challenging,” Meyer said. “It was challenging for me when I was in a boot for six months. It’s challenging for all types of people.”

According to the timeline created by FRK Architects + Engineers, the board is close to considering construction designs for approval. By July 10, it is likely the project will be put out to bid and then awarded soon after. Construction could start as early as December and be ready by June 2026.