Storm 'accelerates' Northwest's plans for new press box

CANAL FULTON There was only one thing going through Jason Hathaway's mind when he woke up Wednesday morning to the news about the press box at Northwest's Dr. Martin Smilek Stadium being destroyed by the previous night's storm.

"I was just thankful that it wasn't a bad fall storm where we got the kids out in the school and the people up in the press box, which very well could've been me," the Northwest High Athletics Director said. "You know, 'We'll wait the storm out before we start the seventh-grade game,' that sort of thing. I mean, it's crazy, man."

The two-story press box, made mostly of plywood and siding, was completely destroyed by the severe storm, which included wind gusts up to 80 miles-per-hour. The second level of the press box had been added onto an existing lower level in the summer of 1991, making the entire structure nearly three-decades old.

The structure wasn't expected to remain for much longer even before the storm hit. Hathaway and other officials in the district had been in discussions for a while about replacing the press box with an updated model, and had even begun the process of fundraising for the project with the sale of personalized bricks.

The storm, though, has accelerated that project significantly.

"Yes it does accelerate it," said Hathaway, who said no other damage was known to have been done to the stadium. "We haven't had a whole lot of time, because there's so many things going on, and academics are the priority right now. We'll probably be meeting soon to decide what we're going to do."

Hathaway and Interim Superintendent Dennis Lambes have talked briefly since Wednesday morning regarding the situation. However, more extensive talks which would also include Dan Levengood, the district's treasurer, are expected to take place next week.

Until then, Hathaway admits that firm plans, especially on the financial side of things, remain up in the air.

"We were in the middle of deciding whether we were going to go pre-(fabricated) or not," Hathaway said of the talks regarding the new press box. "We had specs. We pretty much had both avenues covered. We were down to what our financial decision was going to be and would be in the best interest of the taxpayers and the school."

The district was expected to provide a certain amount of money to the project to go with the money raised by the brick sales. There's also a certain amount of insurance money which is likely to be included, a total that will not be known until the damage is appraised by the insurance company.

Beyond the structure itself, there were some electronic components inside. There were items connected to the scoreboard, as well as a public-address system with a stereo, plus a speaker which was located on the roof of the press box.

"It's not a ton of equipment, but it's a substantial amount of equipment that runs the scoreboard," Hathaway said. "The combination of those two things. I don't even know if we're going to be able to salvage any of the speakers that were on the system. It's a mess."

A mess which may have a silver lining in the end for Northwest in the form of a new press box.

Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE

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