Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Football Stadium On Horizon

If everything works out financially, Gurdon may be getting a new football stadium soon.

When the Gurdon School Board met Tuesday, Feb. 17, in regular session, this subject was broached.

Superintendent Bobby Smithson said everything is going better than expected with the construction of the new Gurdon Middle School, and if this continues, it could be paid off this year.

Should this happen, he said, the district can look at building a new stadium for the Go-Devil football team a stadium with a new track.

"I think we can do it for $500,000," he said. But, he pointed out when Center Point built its new facility, that district paid $800,000. Smithson pointed out Center Point had a turnkey job done, and Gurdon would utilize members of its own staff to help with the work and keep costs down.

The superintendent has already begun looking into the price of different items the stadium would have to have. Telescoping light poles, 100 feet high, would run $2,500 each, he said, with four being needed.

To have them installed, it would cost $23,500, he told the board.

Aluminum bleachers, with seating capacity of 1,000 each, for both sides of the field would run about $121,000 each, with the track costing somewhere in the vicinity of $56,000 to install.

A new field house would be needed as well, he said. The field house would have to be big enough for the junior and senior high teams, including room for showers, lockers and the weight room.

The steel skeleton of the current field house, he said, could be used and expanded on to help keep costs down.

Other construction would include ticket booths and a concession stand. Smithson said the concession stand needs to be built to include restrooms on the back side, while being large enough to have a storage room along with all the snacks offered at ball games.

From there, the construction will require a new chain link fence.

Dirt from construction of the new GMS, he said, can be used as fill for the football field.

Once GMS has been finished, Smithson said, the district will know where it stands financially. Then, the football stadium can possibly be built with post dated warrants for $250,000, with the rest of the money coming from the operating fund.

The field will be located on the east side of GMS so plumbing can be tied in easily for the concession stands.

Going back to the subject of the field house, Smithson said it needs to be about 40 feet by 80 feet, with two showers, an office and storage. It needs to be large enough for two dressing rooms, with the exterior being brick and the roof being like the other buildings on campus.

Stan Escalante, a member of the board, said the band boosters have been discussing covered bleachers for the band similar to what some other schools have. No decision, though, has been reached on the issue.

In other business, Smithson said construction on GMS was going well until the recent rains set in and slowed things down.

The steel skeleton is in place with the roof being installed when weather permits.

He said the brick for the exterior is on site, with the contractor waiting for the roof to be finished and weather to moderate so his crews can begin.

With good weather, Smithson told the board, the interior walls can be installed in six weeks.

Discussing the parking lot suit, he said the district's attorney has contacted the judge in the case and learned the trial should be held sometime early this summer.

BB&B Construction is a co-defendant in the case, he said, and has denied any and all involvement, including ever having worked with the Gurdon district. BB&B did the dirtwork for the parking lot at GHS.

In addition, the company has asked for a change of venue. However, Smithson said the district's position is good and the trial should be held in Clark County.

Smithson said the Horace Cabe Foundation approved a grant for new furniture for the Gurdon Primary School lunchroom, as well as a new physical education building for GPS.

The lunchroom furniture has already been purchased and installed, while the funds for the PE building, some $140,000, won't be released until July.

The district, he said, will need an architect for the job under state rules and regulations. GPS Principal Rita Roe has asked seating be placed along one side of the structure.

Smithson said the district will have two choices in this matter it can build permanent bleachers along one side or remove a section of bleachers from the GMS gym, restain them and put them in the new building.

The board agreed to go with the folding bleachers from GMS, as this would allow for more room in the PE building.

Smithson said if enough money can be saved in building the PE facility, the GPS parking lot will be repaved.

He said the structure can be built on the existing tennis courts, with the concrete foundation being expanded to finish out the 90-feet by 50-feet.

District employees can form the foundation and do the rough-in plumbing work, with the rest being contracted out.

Smithson said the metal building can be purchased for $6 to $8 per square foot.

The topic of student population was also discussed at the meeting. Gurdon's three principals have been asked to do a survey and identify the number of students leaving the district.

Overall, the district has lost 37 students this year. With each student bringing in $4,000 in state funding, this means Gurdon stands to lose about $150,000 if this number remains.

On the high school level, 13 students took their GED exams, while 17 moved out of the district. Another 10 quit school, while two were expelled.

The district will keep an eye on the student population, which, Smithson said, normally picks up during the second semester.

With the seven period school day, some students take a heavier load to get the credits they need for graduation sooner.

However, this occasionally leads to students only needing one or two classes in their final semester to graduate.

These students are asking to be classified as part-time and be allowed to leave school after their classes are done.

Smithson, though, said he has no problem letting the students leave if the district can count them as full time, but if it has to have them as part time students and not be paid for them, he opposes the idea.

Until the district learns more about how the students have to be classified, the matter will remain tabled and the students have to be on campus the full day.

The final order of business for the board was the date of the Hall of Fame Banquet. This year, the banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2 at the GHS cafetorium.

Those being considered for induction include: Pete Prewett; Ed