In-house work by Medford School District on home side bleachers set to be completed before graduation ceremonies

Anyone who has been to a track and field meet lately at Spiegelberg Stadium has been privy to a big project underway in Medford, with the ongoing installation of aluminum seating in the home side bleachers as part of a capital improvement effort that will extend to the visitor’s bleachers later this summer.

The upgrades are being handled in-house by the Medford School District as part of a $195,000 allocation approved by the budget committee and school board for last year’s adopted budget.

The metal bleachers replace wooden ones that have raised safety and maintenance concerns over the years, and allow for significantly less upkeep once in place.

“They’re old and every year they break … well, after every Friday night they break, actually, because kids stand on them,” said Fred Kondziela, the athletics and activities director for the Medford School District. “They’re getting old and, gosh, during COVID we didn’t have the oil-based paint for them, so we finally decided both sides are getting redone.”

“Maintenance-wise it will be really good,” Kondziela added of replacing the wooden bleachers. “There’s been a few cases where we’re putting pieces of wood away on a Friday night, and we’re like, hey, we need this fixed before next Friday night.”

Kondziela said work on the home side bleachers will be completed prior to the May 28-29 graduations ceremonies for South Medford and North Medford high schools, respectively. Work on the visitor’s side will take part in the summer, with completion expected prior to the fall football season.

He added that there is no anticipated change in capacity for stadium seating, beyond the potential of a few lost seats toward the top of the visitor’s side, where stairs to the press box and coaches boxes will be orientated differently for increased safety.

The new bleachers will be adorned with seat tagging to help attendees find their seats, with rows going from A to Z and then AA to BB and so on to the top of each grandstand.

One important change for fans will be a more adamant request from the district that there be no standing on the bleachers, as is commonly the case in student sections.

“We’re going to have to work with the high schools to say that you can’t stand on the bleachers anymore, you’ve got to stand on the floor,” said Kondziela, “because if this breaks, that’s not going to be an easy fix.”

Another change in the works will be the addition of a concrete slab and a shed for ticket taking and sales directly off the main parking lot at Spiegelberg Stadium to utilize the new entrance with full ADA compliance. The shed at the old entrance will turn into a spirit shop.

“We have this beautiful new entrance and no ticket booth there,” said Kondziela.

“I’m excited to at least be catching up to the project,” he added. “Once they did the lights and the track (surface) and new entrance, it was like, ‘OK, I need a year or two to budget for a tough shed there.’”

Looking ahead, however, it will be interesting to see how much of a temperature and reflective nature of the aluminum bleachers will affect the Spiegelberg Stadium experience for those in attendance.

Last year’s lower tier championship football game between North Medford and South Medford was played in freezing conditions at the stadium, and stadium-goers are well aware of the glaring sun that directly hits the visitor’s side and often leads to fans clamoring to the top of the bleachers to seek shade.

Kondziela said he’s really not worried about potential issues that may come with metal bleachers, noting that the fans will get used to the change and plan accordingly for temperature issues.

As such, the facility rarely gets spectators outside of the fall season, and spring track for middle schoolers or high schoolers at the site is typically complete by mid-May. Graduation seating for families is on the more shaded home side bleachers at Spiegelberg Stadium.

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035