East Ridge High School football fans will not have home stands to sit in and cheer their team on during the home opener against Polk County on Aug. 19. And, perhaps, the Pioneer faithful could go the entire season without the stands being in place.

According to David Testerman, East Ridge’s representative to the Hamilton County School Board, the aluminum bleachers are not schedule to be installed until the middle of October.

Testerman said earlier this week that October was the earliest time in which the contractor could install the bleachers. East Ridge’s final home game of the season is on October 14, when it hosts Howard.

“I’m disappointed we couldn’t get it done earlier,” Testerman said. 

Pioneer coach Tim James said that all the information he had concerning the construction schedule for the stands came through administration. James said it was his understanding that the stands would be completed by mid-October.

The Hamilton County School Board announced on May 19 that it was allocating more than $900,000 to make improvements to athletic facilities at East Ridge, Howard, Hixson, Tyner, CSAS, Ooltewah and Lookout Valley. 

Raymond James Stadium was condemned by the City of East Ridge in late August of last year. The city’s building inspector found that the long-neglected prefabricated concrete stands that had been built back in the early 1960s were crumbling and posed a danger to the public.

The stands were razed in December of last year.

School board officials said there had been no money allocated for upkeep on athletic facilities in Hamilton County for more than a decade. School board officials said the responsibility for maintenance on stadiums and other athletic facilities fell on local booster clubs.

After the stadium was razed, a group in East Ridge formed the East Ridge Alumni & Supporters Association that is raising money to build ancillary facilities for the stadium, such as a field house and concession stands. It is having an all-class reunion this weekend. For more information visit its Website.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lee McDade said it took time to order the bleachers and that the contractor had jobs in in the pipeline prior to the fabrication of the East Ridge stands.

Hamilton County Schools officials said the Dant Clayton Coorporation out of Lousville, Ky., is making the aluminum bleachers, which were ordered in mid-July. The East Ridge home field stands will accommodate about 1,000 people and will have an 8-foot by 30-foot press box at the top. The construction project, which will cost $309,000, will take about two weeks to complete, officials said.

The East Ridge Pioneer football team for 2016.