There were several reasons for Hennessey Board of Education to approve $181,780 in costs to delete and add some seating and portable steps in the Eagle Event Center, also known as “The Dome.”

HPS Superintendent Jason Sternberger was pelted with questions from board members at the April 11 meeting when he said they’d have to take out a row of seats to make the traffic flow better at the gym.

“Why?”

“We’re trying to keep people off the court,” Sternberger said.

“The team seats are too close to the floor,” said Patrick Griffin, board member, and a longtime announcer at Eagle sporting events.

“We don’t want people walking in front of the team.”

Griffin also said the clock operators and scorekeepers can’t see over them.

“How many seats?”

Sternberger said he didn’t know how many seats they’d lose, but he’d check.

“How will that affect us in required seating to hold regional meets?”

Sternberger said schools expect in-person fan numbers would continue to drop due to games being available online.

“We’ve only been at about 80 percent capacity this year,” the superintendent said and looked at tech staffers in the audience for more information.

Todd Cameron and Rae Fuksa agreed the stands were full during the basketball playoffs.

“Except for the student section,” Fuksa said, but when both Cashion teams played one night “some of the Cashion fans had to stand in the lobby.”

Other Dome changes

Sternberger said adding new bleachers with chairbacks on the east balcony will also make it easier for older people to take the elevator and get to good seats.

“Fans like those chairbacks,” he said, “and those changes will help those who can’t walk a long way.”

Plans also call for more portable steps and matching up the steps with existing bleachers.

Board members agreed that the problems were on the east main floor and east balcony and they didn’t need work done on the west main floor.

That saved $46,576 and got them to the $181,780 number.

The work will be done by Heartland Seating of Shawnee, Kan.

Griffin noted that the price was “quoted for first quarter 2023 delivery.”

Enough money?

“What other projects do we have coming up that we will need to fund?” asked Luke Lough, who was elected president by the board at the start of the meeting.

“Don’t let this project make you think we don’t have the funds to do the other projects,” said Sternberger.

He said they’d pay for Eagle Event Center changes out of the general fund, but the school is in good shape. The school’s gross production taxes were $403,000 this month and that was up $160,000 over last month, he said.

“We also have $575,000 in the building fund.”

Other projects

Construction of the concession stand came in higher than expected, the superintendent said.

Sternberger said the press box for the track is being built and they will be laying down the track in about three to five weeks.

“By mid-June the track will be done,” he said during his superintendent’s report.

Work in the wrestling room (middle school gym) is being framed and new wrestling coach Gene Bennett told him they need 42x42 wrestling mats instead of the 35x35 they have.

Bennett said The Dome is good for tournaments, but he wants to use the old high school gym for regular meets, Sternberger said.

That way the wrestlers and fans will be closer together.

The south side of the special education classes will get new flooring and there is some work on the outdoor classroom “but nothing major coming up.”