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Contract awarded to demolish South High Fieldhouse bleachers
YOUNGSTOWN
The demolition of dilapidated concrete bleachers at the former South High Fieldhouse’s football field will begin next month.
The board of control approved a $97,000 contract Thursday with B&B Wrecking & Excavating of Cleveland. The company submitted the least-expensive proposal among the three the city received for the work.
The project should take about 60 days to finish, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of the city’s public works department.
The city’s estimate for the work before opening proposals was $150,000.
The bleachers are in poor condition with trees and other greenery growing in them.
The bleachers are a safety issue, said Robert Burke, the city’s park and recreation director.
The bleachers were the location of a brazen Aug. 19, 2006, murder in which Anthony Caulton shot to death Larry D. Jones during a pee-wee football game in front of hundreds of people. Only two people came forward as witnesses in the case.
Metal bleachers at the field will remain.
Also, the city continues to negotiate the sale of the indoor fieldhouse and outdoor stadium to White Hat Management of Akron, which runs the Southside Academy charter school adjacent to the facility.
White Hat is offering $100 for the 5.7-acre complex that has largely been abandoned by the city.
City officials estimate the cost of repairing the property on Erie Street at $250,000.