Published: October 09, 2008 08:46 am         

Greenway Avenue Stadium plans scaled back to reduce costs

Fieldhouse, showers, lockers eliminated

CUMBERLAND — Plans for the new and improved Greenway Avenue Stadium were modified to reduce the cost of the overhaul by more than $1.2 million.

Eliminated Wednesday at a committee meeting were the inclusion of a fieldhouse, coaches offices for both the home and visitors locker rooms, showers for the home team locker room and, instead of individual lockers for athletes, players will have a hook on which to hang equipment.

Vince Montana, director of facilities for the Allegany County Board of Education, also said separate security guard shacks could be eliminated.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Montana said. “The (city police) officers are out in the stands (and) on the track” already.

Brent Feight of BFM Architects Inc. of Hagerstown told the board that prices are likely to be good for construction and “if you’ve got the money, now’s the time to build.”

“We don’t have the money,” countered committee member Myra Ott.

Former Fort Hill and Bishop Walsh football coach Bob Harden recommended against offices for coaches. The space could better be utilized by concessions, he said. He said most coaches spend only a few minutes during a 20-minute intermission to review notes before talking with their team.

“Why put one in if they’re never going to use it,” Harden said. “I think you can ‘x’ that out. That’s just my opinion, as an ex-coach.”

The area projected for the concession stand also was a focus of debate. Currently, a total of 2,000 square feet is available at the stadium. Three different concept plans discussed Wednesday allowed up to 1,300 square feet — to be shared by Allegany and Fort Hill boosters. Ott insisted on at least as much room as is currently available.

Plan C, the apparent favored plan — although not yet approved — had about 1,000 square feet available for a concessions area. In addition, Plan C had a less desirable men’s and women’s restroom area off the main concourse to create “more of a bottleneck,” Feight said. Doors would remain open at all times, protected by screens, to keep the foot traffic moving as smoothly as possible.

Feight described the entrance to the stadium along Greenway Avenue as having a “monumental look” with three concrete pillars.

Montana said Plan C “has more of the required elements,” including handicapped accessibility and bench seating for much of the stadium.

Dave Christopher, committee co-chair, said a board member’s recent statement that the city had issued a permit for fieldhouse construction was not true. A grading permit had been issued but, due to lack of funding, the facility likely won’t be built.

Committee members also discussed the best way to recognize significant sponsorships of various projects in the renovation. Sponsors seemed to prefer a plaque posted on or near the area they helped finance, but some members were opposed to that idea because it might detract from the aesthetic appeal of the stadium.

“I don’t want it looking like a roadside fruit stand,” Montana said. “I think it looks cheap.”

An alternative could be a wall of recognition where each sponsor’s contribution is noted in a single location.

The next step is the process, Feight said, is to finalize the concept plan and approach Cumberland planning officials with a site plan.

Fundraising for the stadium hasn’t gone well in this, the second year for a raffle of high-dollar items with a combined value of $32,500, including a grand prize new car or $25,000.

Tickets are available for $50 each and can be purchased up until the end of the first quarter of the Nov. 8 homecoming football game. They also can be purchased at the school district’s central office on Washington Street, as well as at Fort Hill and Allegany high schools.

The committee needs to sell approximately 800 tickets to break even on the effort. Last year, a total of 1,300 tickets were sold. Only 33 tickets have been sold this year.

The committee has raised $389,386 but collected just $248,362. Randy Bittinger, finance director for the board, said another $141,024 has been pledged but not yet collected.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.