How is the parking situation? Bleachers, concessions, etc. won't be overly difficult from a construction and permitting standpoint. If additional parking is needed, that's a whole other kettle of fish based on the drastic changes to post-construction runoff.
Two big fields in front of school could be used for parking. Not sure what it would take to pave the fields.
I was curious when you mentioned it so I thought I would look it up since it was approved in the county’s budget.
On the topic of Graham leaving Mitchell Stadium it was brought up in May of 2023 when the school board approved the 2 year agreement (2023 & 2024 seasons) to lease Mitchell Stadium.
“He (Dr. Stacy) recommended the Board approve the agreement, but do serious investigation into other options for coming years, such as constructing a stadium at Graham High School or upgrading the field and all of the amenities at Tazewell High School in order for the stadium to accommodate both Tazewell High School games and Graham High School games.“
So if a worthy stadium isn’t built by next year are Tazewell & Graham going to be roommates?
Guess we will see lol, but I'm pretty sure it's going to get done.Have heard both Tazewell and Richlands getting new visitor stands this season so I figure they would do them all at once.
The county shows $0 in private donations received and that they paid out $223,940 in leases/rentals this year. If roughly 60k of that didn’t go to Mitchell Stadium I’d love to know where it went.
That would have been 2022. The last time we played Bluefield as a home game. Feel free to check that. And it was paid to city of Bluefield WV not TCSB. Just what I was told. Personally I could careless. We are leaving that place.
49 years of watching them has shown me plenty. The current city manager has done much better, but us fans had to piss in a horse trough and barely hear the P.A. announcers for years. I watched the team be locked out of the locker room until nearly kickoff, ripped off the concession sales and endure outragious rent, more rent then other tenants... or witness the stadium get used and abused by Bluefield University without paying their fair share for the amount of usage and see what rent was paid get spent on otherr projects then stadium upkeep. Letting their state semifinal opponent practice ar the stadium the night before their game without even telling the folks at GHS. You can say what you want about that situation , sure the city can do what they want with their stadium, but that was a slap in the face. You can thank the Shott foundation for a lot of the upgrades. The sooner Graham gets away from there, the better as far as I'm concerned.
It's my understanding the Schott foundation paid the rent last year instead of TCSB. If that is in fact true the end is coming rapidly.
I think Mercer County owns Mitchell now? Is that correct? My memory is crap, but I thought it's actually in the counties hands now and not the city of Bluefield?
For the folks calling the shots on the Virginia side, (not the average person who has no say so), but for the few people calling the shots, I said this back in 2017ish or 2018 on here. A golden opportunity missed when their was discussion of a new stadium in Double Gates and I remember someone even posted conceptual drawings on here. The economy was booming, inflation near nothing and well before Covid and the demented one stepped in. I wrote then, a golden opportunity is now and not moving forward may be a decision the Bluefield, VA, side regrets as the future is very uncertain.
They tried to give it away to mcsb. At first they accepted and then decided not to take it. Town of Bluefield offered to buy it and City of Bluefield refused to even consider it. They still own it.
Bluefield city no longer receives any money from Graham’s concessions or ticket sales.
Graham sits on the home side every other year, they alternate Friday home games with Bluefield when there is a scheduling conflict & they practice there multiple times per year.
How are they being treated as a 2nd rate tenant?
Next time you make a state semifinal let's let tcsb let the team you're playing practice on your field the night before the game without even giving you a phone call and see how you feel about it. Or how about shutting down tailgating because they weren't making any money on it for Graham Beaver. Then open a beer garden on the virginia side and decide the BVPD gets to police it without notifying or asking them. They took 20% of band concessions for years for nothing. It's only changed last year with a rent increase because they figured out they could make more on the raised rent than concessions. They've doubled the rent in the last 15 years too. And with BU and BSU playing on Saturdays we basically get 4th choice on dates. If you took a poll of under 60 residents of bluefield va I'd bet 90% are for leaving Mitchell Stadium. And guess why the second chance concerts stopped? Because the city of Bluefield tried doubling the rent. But hey they have pretty lights no one cares about.
It might have been said before but I can't remember. Where is the funding coming from for these fields? We know the county can't manage its funding so what outside source has provided for these upgrades?
Was really disappointed when I hear that games will still be at Mitchell. Hope they can get them moved to their field in the next few years.
Most likely in 2025 they make the move with only the Bluefield game played at Mitchell.
I have a blueprint of what Graham's field will look like, but don't know how to post it on here. It's in my gallery on my phone.
The print you have has changed if it's the one I had. Graham high school facebook page just loaded a preview of the new field. Looks similar to tazewell.
Where is Dubois going? If I recall correctly, Dubouse was a 3 star defensive line recruit out of Mount View High around the turn of the century, and was offered by Tech, WVU, and many more. He ended up playing for the Mountaineers.
He was dismissed after an incident at the union playoff game.
I haven't been there in years, but do remember it. Also, looked it up on the net. I remember the place holding a whole lot of people. It doesn't have a second deck, but it's deceptive. The single decks that it has on each side rises up very steep and tall, like......25 rows tall. I found something a while back that said this gym actually holds 2500. There's just a lot of space behind the basketball goals and there's no stands between the goal and the giant walls they have behind each goal. A player even with a lot of space can have perhaps a little bit more perception if there are seats behind the goal, but Lebanon doesn't have that. It's a really nice facility though.
As for local high school gyms and regulations, I had no idea about the 84 feet thing until reading the posts above. Makes sense. When I was very, very young, I recall some gym in rural southern West Virginia in the coalfields my dad took me to for watching a game. Northfork (was beating the hell) out of somebody, but the half court lines extended into the other teams 5 second line. I know lots of gyms in the way back in the day use to be like this, especially in rural parts of the country. A friend of mine from rural Western Kansas told me one time (he's older than me) that when he was in High School, they played a school where the roof of the gym was so low in the corners that you couldn't shoot from the side of the basket far, far back near the out of bounds line because the ball would hit the roof, and the home team knew this, so they would freely let the opposing player drive to the deep corner of the baseline and play off him by about 10 feet.
Old Montcalm gym was smallest I ever saw. It was a cracker box.
Heard there was a work stoppage at the Graham site, which is now pushing back the start time for Tazewell's project. Can anyone confirm. Something with DEQ.
They were working yesterday. Didn't go by there today so if there was a stoppage it was since yesterday after lunch.
Yall leave the "DEQ" dam$ Dairy Queen out of this! I love that place.
On a serious note. I recall many years ago back around 1990ish Graham High had a sinkhole or something like that which was so bad the school was closed for a few months and the High Schoolers had to go to the Middle School. It was all over the Bluefield Daily. I wonder if there is any chance that thing could rear its ugly head? I remember some Graham fans on this board many years ago saying their is a cave or cave system or something crazy like that which runs under the school or something like this. My memory is way vague on it.
I wouldn't imagine that is the problem. They built the new fieldhouse and new gyms a decade ago within 70 yards of the sinkhole that appeared in 1990.
Turf complete by August is my understanding and they’re getting a track around I believe. Stadium will come later financed by the community. 🤞🤞🤞🤞 Someone can correct if this is fake news! 😂😂😂😂
I've been told by multiple folks in the know the money will be there to finish the stadium.
What's the deal with Graham? Is it simply "a field?" Or.....are they building a new football stadium where Graham will play home football games there? Huge difference in a "new field" or "new track" and a new stadium which means...parking, seats, bleachers, lots of concrete for bleachers and concessions, etc. Anyone know if Graham is building a home football stadium or simply putting down turf for a practice field? Thanks in advance. By reading this thread, I think it's a new stadium, but I'm not all the way sure. Somebody wrote that Graham would be complete with their project by August? If it's August, that sounds to me like a new "field" and only that, not a new "stadium." It seems a new stadium wouldn't be anywhere close to being done by August.....if it's a new stadium.
For 2024......it's a field with lights a soccer field and a track. Beyond that.......it's going to end up a stadium. It's just a matter of when. They arent spending a million dollars for a practice field. Most likely 25 or 26 Graham will be playing most games on campus.
I misunderstood you earlier. TCPS awarded contracts in the fall to contractors, not contracts to a design firm. If construction has begun at Graham and the project has a competent contractor, work should be completed by summer unless we experience something biblical weather wise.
That doesn't mean Graham, Tazewell and Richlands were designed simultaneously and doesn't mean they will be constructed simultaneously either. Each school will be submitted to DEQ as a separate project for review. Each will have a different and unique timeline through that process. Graham is obviously past that process but the other two may very well not be. Especially if DEQ requested changes to the original design, which would begin the clock all over again for a second review. DEQ could grant TCPS permission to bid each of the three projects based on initial design with the caveat, no construction shall begin prior to certain changes being approved through DEQ for the other two schools. That could explain why Tazewell and Richlands have approved a contractor but work hasn't begun. If no public funds are being used for the projects, TCPS would be free to hire whomever they choose without having to go through competitive bids. Which could also explain why contractors have been hired but work hasn't commenced.
Either way, it's a much more lengthy process than most people realize.
Bids for all 3 jobs went out last July I believe. And was approved in either August or Sept. Can't remember which it was. But was told all 3 will be complete by August.
I misunderstood you earlier. TCPS awarded contracts in the fall to contractors, not contracts to a design firm. If construction has begun at Graham and the project has a competent contractor, work should be completed by summer unless we experience something biblical weather wise.
That doesn't mean Graham, Tazewell and Richlands were designed simultaneously and doesn't mean they will be constructed simultaneously either. Each school will be submitted to DEQ as a separate project for review. Each will have a different and unique timeline through that process. Graham is obviously past that process but the other two may very well not be. Especially if DEQ requested changes to the original design, which would begin the clock all over again for a second review. DEQ could grant TCPS permission to bid each of the three projects based on initial design with the caveat, no construction shall begin prior to certain changes being approved through DEQ for the other two schools. That could explain why Tazewell and Richlands have approved a contractor but work hasn't begun. If no public funds are being used for the projects, TCPS would be free to hire whomever they choose without having to go through competitive bids. Which could also explain why contractors have been hired but work hasn't commenced.
Either way, it's a much more lengthy process than most people realize.
Correct. Richlands is only turf replacement though I was told.
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Two big fields in front of school could be used for parking. Not sure what it would take to pave the fields.