Towering above the newly renovated stadium at Festus, the press box dominates the landscape as you leave West Main Street and turn onto Sunshine Drive.
The press box sits atop the new shiny, aluminium bleachers like a crown. Not quite 500 square feet, it will shelter me and other members of the press, statisticians, scoreboard operators and coaches from the elements.
It has air conditioning for the summer and heat for the winter. The top is diamond plated and looks large enough to land a helicopter (it’s not).
While the press box and grandstand (which will seat 3,000) are almost ready to receive the people who will flock to the stadium on Aug. 31 for the Tigers’ football game against Sullivan, crews from E.A. Boyer Building and Design, were busy on Aug. 2 laying a protective layer of sheathing before the shingles are placed on the roof, digging a trench to run cables for one of the two play clocks and working on the end of the stadium where the concessions and restrooms will be.
Boyer was working with his crew, running a piece of heavy machinery to clear away rubble and dirt from the site of the trenching. He said he knows the clock is ticking toward opening night for the Tigers, although the two-minute warning hasn’t yet come.
The Festus R-6 Board of Education awarded the $4,994,500 contract to Boyer on March 8, with work starting later that month.
On Aug. 2, Boyer said the project was 75 to 80 percent completed. His company has worked on school stadium construction projects before, but he said nothing of the magnitude at Festus.
Boyer said the short time frame and weather always have been his chief concerns.
“The original bid (specified that the job) was supposed to be finished by Aug. 1, and I was the only one that gave (the district) a number to do it,” Boyer said. “The other ones said it couldn’t be done.”
He said that deadline later was extended to Sept. 1.
“Some other contractors told (Festus Superintendent Link Luttrell) I would never finish by then,” Boyer said.
In July, Boyer said when he gave a progress report to the board, he said he was “on schedule and behind.”
“We broke rock here for five weeks. It looked like a rock quarry up here,” he said. “The walls we’re breaking rock for are part of the grandstand walls, so it stopped the project for three weeks.”
However, he said, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be a football game played on Aug. 31.
“I can finish by the end of September,” Boyer said. “Are we behind? They are playing football here Aug. 31. They’re using these stands on Aug. 31. Will everything be finished? Probably not.”
Boyer said the plaza on the east end of the stadium won’t be done by the first game, and a fence or two might need to be added.
Luttrell said Friday he is confident the stadium will be ready in time for the first of three straight home games for the Tigers.
“There’s always going to be buttoning up and we won’t plan any landscaping at this point,” Luttrell said. “There’s nothing that would be a hazard or prevent us from having the game. The main items we need for occupancy will be ready to go.”
Boyer said he’s usually not so hands-on during many projects, but with Luttrell watching and the first game looming, he said he has no choice.
“When (Luttrell) awarded my company the contract, he said, ‘Are you going to be here?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I’ll be there.’ Usually I do my job in the office,” Boyer said.
Luttrell said plans for opening night haven’t been finalized, but he senses that Festus fans are eagerly awaiting to see the stadium.
“I’m very excited and pleased with the progress,” Luttrell said. “I think the entire community is. People are going to be very pleased with the end result. After talking to some of the alumni, they are very excited.”
As is Festus football head coach Russ Schmidt. A new stadium for a football coach is like having a new home. Schmidt was preparing for the first day of practice on Monday and showed me one of the reasons he’s excited about the new digs – space. For years, football equipment has been stuffed into the boys locker room shower. When the stadium is finished, all of the football and track and field gear will have its own area at track level.
“It sounds silly to get so excited about storage, but to know there’s a place where we can store our stuff and it not being moved around is huge,” Schmidt said.
Watching the game from a higher level will remove all of the obstructions fans at Festus games had grown accustomed to. Schmidt’s assistants will get a much clearer view of the action on the field perched atop the press box. New LED lights will add to the viewing enjoyment for all.
“It feels like you’re watching drone footage when you’re on top of the press box it’s so high,” Schmidt said. “When we film the games from up there it’s going to capture a whole different angle. The sightlines from the bleachers are much higher. If you are on the top looking down, you can see the plays develop and see things you might have missed the in the past because of the sightlines.”
Despite three straight seasons with a non-winning record, Schmidt said his program’s numbers have climbed to nearly 80 players. Undoubtedly, the stadium project is piquing interest in the student body.
“There’s a sense of excitement with these kids because we’ve struggled the last couple of years,” Schmidt said. “They know this is their opportunity in an improved venue. You’d be foolish not to make (stadium construction) as a learning tool.”
Most importantly for Schmidt though, is his daughter, Hailey, who stopped coming to games three years ago because the stadium was not ADA accessible. Ramps on both ends of the grandstands will allow people in wheelchairs to access the stands. Special seating areas for the disabled have been added.
“My daughter quit coming to the games because she couldn’t see,” Schmidt said. “She would enter through the bottom gate. She’ll have the ability to get up into the stands. There’s special designated seating for people in wheelchairs in the front row and that’s awesome. I think back to when we went up to Fox years ago and the thing that jumped out to my wife and I was they were ADA accessible.”