Stakeholder meetings planned for bleachers project at H.A. Lynn Stadium

Feedback from coaches and staff members will be collected before the Newton school board takes any further action on the visitor bleachers project at H.A. Lynn Stadium, which was brought about after a concerned citizen complained the bleachers needed handrails to improve accessibility for older patrons.

Rachelle Hines of FRK Architects + Engineers provided school officials with an update on the project during the Feb. 24 school board meeting. She said a user group meeting with football, soccer and track coaches and other district staff members has been scheduled for March 12 to discuss the project in-depth.

When the board authorized the use of $800,000 in SAVE (Secured an Advanced Vision for Education) funds for the project back in January, Newton head football coach Andy Swedenhjelm told officials that it felt like not all stakeholders were involved in the process. He was largely unaware of the project.

Addressing the accessibility of the stadium is a valid issue, he said, but he also worried about the pace of the project and whether coaches had been faithfully vetted for input. He also stressed the need of incorporating the project into an overall plan rather than just a reactive response.

It is important to note the bleacher project does not affect the home side seating; Hines said that could be part of future plans but for now the board is deciding to improve the visitors side. She also noted construction of the bleachers would not be ready before fall. The lead times for bleachers, she said, are extensive.

“No one wants to rush to try and get those done. I think you want to do it right…Bleachers would not be torn out until November. There is a little gap there (in the timeline) for ordering time.” Hines said, adding the demolition of the existing bleachers wouldn’t happen until after the football season.

Which means construction will interfere with high school track season.

School board member Kristi Meyer tried to work out ways in which the district could schedule the project without disrupting any sport. Hines said the aluminum bleachers would have needed to be ordered two months ago to get to Newton in time for the installation. At this point, disrupting track is inevitable.

“The amount of time it takes to install them exceeds the amount of time you have between track and football,” Hines said. “We can try to minimize that a little bit, but there’s just not enough time unfortunately. But, yes, we will order them this fall because they will take a long time to get here.”

Disruptions for the track team will not affect the stadium itself or the ability of the team to play or practice. Student-athletes will still be able to run on the track and utilize the stadium. The bleachers more so affect the viewing on the visitors side. Usually the visitors side for track is only full during Cardinal Relays.

Hines said the findings of the user group meetings will be shared with board members sometime in April or May. Robyn Friedman, chair of the Newton school board, asked if it would make sense for the group to include community members that utilize the bleachers. Friedman said that is where this issue derived from.

Tom Hollander asked school board members in September 2024 to seriously consider adding handrails to bleachers. For many years he and his wife would sit in the east side bleachers to watch football games at H.A. Lynn Stadium. But they can no longer climb the bleacher stairs without the assistance of handrails.

Hines said the school district can certainly allow community members to be part of the group. She noted the group is not going to delve too deeply into master planning discussions since that would require more time. Her hope is that the meetings give the district a better idea of what stakeholders want and need.

According to district documents, the construction is estimated to cost $712,500. The “soft costs” total $84,500 and include services like soil investigations and testings, surveys, professional fees and city/state plan review. The total estimated costs are $797,000. Contractor bids will ultimately decide final costs.