Lorain School Board talks George Daniel Field upgrades

LORAIN — Walking around George Daniel Field, school board members unanimously agreed the stadium is in need of an upgrade. During a board of education work session Thursday afternoon, members discussed plans to expand the locker rooms and revamp bathrooms and bleachers to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The steel-reinforced stadium built in 1928 is structurally sound, but it hasn't changed much since board President Bill Sturgill graduated from Lorain High in 1968, he said, while standing in the west-side locker rooms. "Everyone knows it needs to be updated," he said. A sentiment fellow board member Jay Ferguson shared when he walked into a set of bathrooms, joking, "There's that George Daniel smell I remember." The small locker rooms mean about 40 varsity football players at a time can cram into the space. And there are aging bathroom facilities and dim lighting. Prospective renovations include expanding the locker and weight room area to be accommodate freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams, as well as away-team fans' restrooms and office space for coaches. The concrete block building could be expanded by about 150 feet, Executive Director of Operations Mary Mayse said, while the current visitors' side bathrooms underneath the bleachers would be eliminated entirely. Both the visitor and home bleachers need ramps to make them handicapped accessible. Patrick Thornton, Sixmo Architects and Engineers director of business development, said the home side would need to eliminate about two rows of bleachers to accommodate the width of the ramp and platform walkway, while the visitors' side could be expanded to add the requisite concrete slab. The visitors' side concessions stand, a yellow brick hut halfway between the two bleachers, is not conducive to serving food, lacking proper sewer hookups, Mayse said. The only concessions available there are prepackaged items or pizza. On the home side, the bathrooms under the bleachers would be extended out to increase capacity and allow for better accessibility. Thornton, whose firm is expected to do the design work, said the next steps are field measurements for the most needed items, and then designs. The total cost of the project, and whether it would be done in one go or over several phases, was not immediately available Thursday. CEO Jeff Graham said the ADA compliance issues are dire, and he is looking to use grant money and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to cover the project. Given the age of the building, asbestos management, lead paint testing and other factors will need to be taken into consideration. As the district looks to expand its arts offerings — part of the extracurriculars cut just over a decade ago during a dire budget crunch — the much-needed upgrades at George Daniel Field are next on the list, Sturgill said. None of the proposed work will touch the new turf paid for by the Cleveland Browns in 2018, or the new signage and fiber optics previously installed. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.