By JOHN HOWELL Where will spectators to Pilgrim's homecoming football game sit? It won't be in the bleachers. School crews were mounting sheets of plywood to close off the bleachers Wednesday morning in response to a complaint from a parent who is an
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Where will spectators to Pilgrim’s homecoming football game sit? It won’t be in the bleachers.
School crews were mounting sheets of plywood to close off the bleachers Wednesday morning in response to a complaint from a parent who is an architect who attended a soccer game at Vets earlier this week. The parent claimed the bleachers failed to meet code.
City Building director Al DeCorte checked it out. The architect was right. The code calls for no more than a 4 inch opening between the seat and the floor below. The opening at the Vets bleachers is 18 inches. That discovery prompted DeCorte to look at other school bleachers. The Toll Gate bleachers that apparently were brought up to code when the field was rebuilt is fine, but the Pilgrim bleachers have an 18 inch gap.
DeCorte informed Kevin Oliver at the School Department.
“That may be fixed. That’s up to them,” DeCorte said of the school department. Had schools gone ahead and allowed use of the bleachers for Friday’s game, DeCorte would be faced with taking action.
The news came as a kick in the gut for Pilgrim Principal Gerry Habershaw.
“I’m disappointed,” he said Wednesday morning.
“With what’s been happening (the loss of events and activities because of the pandemic), these kids have been hurt. We were just back to normal and this happens.”
Couldn’t the bleachers have been used for just one more football game?
“Once I knew (of the code violation) I had to let the schools know. I know I’m not a very popular person,” said DeCorte.
Catherine Bonang, secretary to Superintendent Lynn Dambruch said spectators could stand between the track and the fence or behind the fence on either side of the bleachers.
Oliver couldn’t be reached as to what action could be taken to meet code and open the bleachers.
According to Warwick Athletic Director Ken Rix, the game is still expected to take place as scheduled at the Pilgrim High School football field with a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on Friday.
The school is expecting to seat spectators on the track surrounding the field, and is encouraging those in attendance to bring their own seats.
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