Waverly’s War Memorial Stadium closed this year [The Daily Review, Towanda, Pa.]

Aug. 14--Waverly's sports teams will not be able to utilize War Memorial Stadium this fall, officials confirmed Tuesday.

Waverly Central School District officials decided last week to keep the stadium closed this year due to safety and liability concerns at the facility raised by the district's insurance company, interim superintendent Michael McMahon said.

McMahon told the district's board of education earlier this month that he planned to approach insurers with a list of short-term repairs that would allow the stadium to open. However, officials decided not to move forward because of the expense and amount of work required for short-term fixes that would be torn out during the renovations planned for next year.

The suggestions had included lighting improvements and short-term adjustments to improve safety on the stadium's aging concrete bleachers.

Junior varsity and modified football games, soccer games and other smaller events will be played on the field behind Waverly High School when possible, McMahon said.

Athletic director Jeffrey Manwaring has worked on modifying the football schedule to accommodate the closure, McMahon said. Three home games will be relocated to nearby stadiums. The plan is for Waverly to play their games at Athens, with at least two of the games likely being moved to Saturday night.

McMahon said the stadium's closure makes it "possible to get started sooner, rather than later" on the renovation project. The district has approval from the state education department to begin work in 2014, a year sooner than originally anticipated, due to the stadium's condition.

The project's next step is the bidding process, McMahon told school board members at their most recent meeting. The bid specifications will include a series of alternatives that the board will select from, including whether to replace the existing grass field with new grass or turf.

Repairs and renovations to the stadium were estimated to cost a minimum of $2.3 million earlier in the year, when the district's engineering firm determined the project's scope with district officials, but some of those items will be eligible for state aid.

Base stadium renovations would include construction of new stairs, repair and reinforcement of the concrete bleachers, conformation to accessibility standards and field replacement.

Amanda Renko can be reached at (570) 888-9652; or email: [email protected].

___

(c)2013 The Daily Review (Towanda, Pa.)

Visit The Daily Review (Towanda, Pa.) at thedailyreview.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services