Politics & Government

BASD Stadium Repairs Expected to Exceed $600,000

A majority of the school board appears ready to approve bids to repair decaying support columns and retaining walls for 73-year-old stadium.

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The Bethlehem Area School Board appears to be on the verge of spending more than $600,000 to repair the Bethlehem Area School District stadium, according to published reports.

While the stadium has not reached the point of being unsafe, the cost of repairing deteriorating steel columns and retaining walls will only increase with time.

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But at least one board member, Eugene McKeown, said the repairs should wait another year.

Do you agree with McKeown that repairs to the BASD stadium should wait another year? Tell us in the comments.

Find out what's happening in Bethlehemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Problems with the stadium came to light earlier this spring while repairs were made to a sinkhole that had formed under the visiting team bleachers on the Grenadier Boulevard side of the stadium, according to The Express-Times.

Some bleacher supporting columns are not attached to their base and some retaining walls along Grenadier Boulevard and Elizabeth Avenue are crumbling, The Morning Call reported.

The problems with decaying steel columns and retaining walls are the result of old age, not the sinkhole, according to District Engineer Arif Fazil of D’Huy Engineering. The repairs should extend the life of the 73-year-old stadium by another 30 years, Fazil said.

The full board is expected to vote to approve bids to make repairs at its next regular meeting on May 21.


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