Funds sought to add seats at Canfield complex
CANFIELD — Community volunteers and school officials say one last piece is needed to complete the Canfield sports/community complex behind the high school — two “wings” of additional bleacher seating on the home side of the field.
Raising $200,000 to purchase the materials by June 1 is critical because the price to purchase the steel for the job will rise 50 percent after that, said Jim Rousher, president of the Canfield Nest Builders, a non-profit community group.
“If we don’t do it now, it probably will not happen,” said Rousher, who works in the steel transportation industry and has watched the price of steel skyrocket recently.
The Nest Builders and representatives from the city, Canfield Township, school board, high school band and athletics department held a news conference at the stadium Thursday to explain to the public the need for donations for the project.
“We can’t promise you a seat until you give us a hand,” quipped Dante Zambrini, Canfield superintendent of the lack of seating in the state-of-the art facility.
The stadium now features an all-weather track, new band shell, new visitor’s side seating, and ProGrass field turf. The community has raised the money for improvements made over the past three years.
In all, around $1.5 million has been spent.
But seating capacity is the one exception. The new visitor seating holds around 2,000 fans. The recently renovated home bleachers hold around 1,300 — giving the stadium a seating capacity of 3,300.
That is frequently not enough, causing a great many fans to stand along the edges of the stadium, Zambrini said.
Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com