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Hey Sixcat......Condemned


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I thought the Grayson bleachers needed condemned about 12 years ago...that was the last time I was up there... seemed to me like there was a slab of concrete on the visitors sideline very close to the field, am I right about that or was I just seeing things?

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They have placed temporary metal bleachers on each side of the concrete slab on the visitors side. Not much better but not nearly as bad as the home side.

 

The home side is poured concrete sitting on top of the hillside, which has eroded to the point of nearly being able to stand underneath in sections.

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I have to agree about the Richlands stadium... that home side and bathrooms are very much in need of modernization.

 

That being said, a lot of stadiums recently are being brought up for renovation/replacement.

 

The Bristol Pirates are looking to move away from Boyce Cox Field and to the Tennessee side because of the terrible seating and bathrooms there as well.

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Huge chucks out visible from road......press box near as bad.......    this along with some other action represent a

 

total disregard for football by Admin ,AD., School Board etc.     New Super and School Board have plenty of work to do.......

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It is a shame that Grayson has allowed the bleachers to get so bad.  Maybe this is what it took for them to actually invest something into to football program.  The lights also need to be replaced seeing how they are leaning to an ugly and dangerous level and also after they went out at halftime during a game and stayed off for about 3 hours. Having been in Grayson my whole life I don't want to hear about not having money for it. Other schools similar to Grayson have gotten grants and other funding for these types of projects. So far it just hasn't been a priority. Sounds like thanks to the new superintendent and some of the new school board members it now will be finally.  

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It is a shame that Grayson has allowed the bleachers to get so bad.  Maybe this is what it took for them to actually invest something into to football program.  The lights also need to be replaced seeing how they are leaning to an ugly and dangerous level and also after they went out at halftime during a game and stayed off for about 3 hours. Having been in Grayson my whole life I don't want to hear about not having money for it. Other schools similar to Grayson have gotten grants and other funding for these types of projects. So far it just hasn't been a priority. Sounds like thanks to the new superintendent and some of the new school board members it now will be finally.  

I hope so.  My brother played there in the mid 90's.  The bleachers were in terrible shape then.  The kids deserve an administration with their best interests in mind.  That hasn't been the case for the past 20 plus years.

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Wait... Doesn't the fine people of Tazewell County know that Richlands pretty much played for the state championship against Appomattox? I'm sure they will come up with the funds to help a team that finished state runner ups errr I mean 3rd or 4th... well whatever they finished.

 

In all seriousness I really hope both Grayson and Richlands can come up with the funds for new stands. I know how important it was for me to be able to see the bleachers filled with classmates and family when I played and would hate for those kids to miss that because of lack of funds.

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Grayson has the option of playing it's home games at old Fries High School, which I think they may have to do at least for one season.  That doesn't come without cost either so nothing is an easy choice for a county that has closed several schools in an effort to reduce expenditures.  

 

The mismanagement of the county school system is bordering on criminal.  They have already had several school system employees arrested within the past year for embezzlement and/or fraud.  If what I am hearing is true, the former superintendent and another administrator will be charged at some point also.  The new superintendent, who was just hired a few weeks ago, has his work cut out for him.  Grayson is one of the poorest counties in Virginia with only 46% of the adult population having graduated from high school.  Education hasn't been a priority up to this point.  The culture of the county will have to evolve in order for real change to occur within the school system.  

 

Time will tell.

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In all seriousness I really hope both Grayson and Richlands can come up with the funds for new stands. I know how important it was for me to be able to see the bleachers filled with classmates and family when I played and would hate for those kids to miss that because of lack of funds.

 

From what I've heard from the Grayson people who went to Richlands this year the two are in a little different situation. From the huge home side, field turf, huge field house, etc. the visitor bleachers would just apparently finish off their super nice facilities. Grayson needs these updates to literally function and provide a safe place for players and fans. You can only kick the can down the road so far until there's nothing left of the can...which is what is going to happen to our football facilities eventually...then that will cost them even more. 

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The middle school is the old high school post renovation.  Fries played football in the Fries Ballpark (baseball stadium) located just on the other side of Lee Drive from the middle school.  On Google Maps, it appears to be lined for sandlot play in the outfield of the baseball field.  It hasn't been kept up to the extent it was when the high school was still in existence but still in good shape.  Temporary bleachers would have to be brought in if they do use Fries for home games next fall.

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I LOVE Ernie Hicks Stadium,  but,  the bathrooms have needed updating for a long long time !

 The rest of the stadium is not bad although I have heard that there is some concern about the structural integrity in a couple of places in the home section and some of the wood bleachers need replacing.

Like you mayor,  I sure hope they never tear down the home side and replace it with metal bleachers,  it just wouldn't be the same !

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I hope they can do something like the beams and make it work for another 40 years. 

 

The next thing that needs done at Ernie is new visitor bleachers, maybe with a bathroom and dressing rooms for the visiting team underneath and a new fence all the way around the stadium. 

 

In my opinion that would make that place complete. 

 

And maybe enclose the ends of each side of the press box for visiting radio/coaches. 

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The biggest issue with the visitor side is the road that's behind it. There's really no way to move the road, and short of tearing up the track, you can't really make the bleachers bigger in terms of rows. It's a tricky situation, for sure.

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The biggest issue with the visitor side is the road that's behind it. There's really no way to move the road, and short of tearing up the track, you can't really make the bleachers bigger in terms of rows. It's a tricky situation, for sure.

 

I think if you build it up higher and may longer you'd have more room than you'd realize. Especially with the middle light tower no longer in play you have about 5-8 extra feet between the current setup and the road. 

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