$407,000 renovation project nearly done at Island stadium
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WHEELING -- The Wheeling Park High School football team traveled to West Liberty University for a "home" game on Thursday, but school officials hope $407,000 worth of improvements to Wheeling Island Stadium will provide the Patriots a safe venue in which to play for many years to come.
With three new concrete panels now in place at the top of the stadium and new galvanized steel supports installed to secure the all the panels to the seating areas, Ohio County Schools Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones confirmed Wednesday the Patriots plan to host the Hawks of University High School at 7 p.m. on Sept. 15 on Wheeling Island.
"Outside of something totally unforeseen, we plan on playing University at the stadium on Sept. 15," Jones said. "And we hope to have some of our soccer games there even before then."
On Wednesday, contractors working for Colaianni Construction installed new galvanized steel supports throughout the interior of the stadium. These new anchors are in addition to the original 1987 steel supports, so school officials believe the protection is much stronger than it was previously.
"It now allows us to do a visual inspection to see if there is some kind of a problem," Brian Harto, maintenance director for Ohio County Schools, said of having the visible steel beams throughout the stadium. "Before, there was no way to know there was a problem until it failed the way it did."
The trouble began on April 14, when school officials found damage to one of the concrete panels at the top of the seating section on the side of the stadium closest to Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack.
Three days later, contractors arrived at the stadium with the plan of pulling the damaged panel down by crane. When the crane pulled the damaged panel loose, an adjacent panel plummeted to the ground unexpectedly, crashing through the fence that surrounds the stadium.
"That panel fell because this turned into a construction site," Jones said Wednesday. "If the original damage had not occurred, it would not have fallen."
For about four months, there was hole at the top of the stadium created by the missing panels, while the panels themselves were left where they had landed on April 17. Now, the old panels, as well as a third panel on which officials found damage, have been discarded. In their place are new concrete panels.
Harto said the $407,000 price tag may end up "slightly higher" because of some sealant work that was done inside the stadium but expected it would still be under $500,000. That's still much less than original estimates predicting the work could cost about $1 million.
Jones said the school's insurance policy through the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management should offset about 5 percent of the project's expense.
"It's been a burden," Jones said. "We really wanted our kids to get the chance to experience homecoming at their stadium. Now, they'll be able to do that."
The stadium problem forced officials to move the annual OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Game and Queen of Queens competition to Martins Ferry in July, while forcing officials to find replacement venues for football and soccer competition.
School officials temporarily moved Wheeling Park boys and girls soccer matches, with these games to be split between Wheeling Jesuit University and the J.B. Chambers Memorial Park in East Wheeling.
"We appreciate the help everyone has given us during this time -- West Liberty, the city (of Wheeling) and Wheeling Jesuit," Harto added.