New aluminum bleachers are in the process of being erected at Shanks Field/Raymond James Stadium on the campus of East Ridge High School.

New bleachers are going up on the home field side of Raymond James Stadium at East Ridge High School.

Tuesday morning a three-man crew from Daley Construction was going about their business making progress on a job long in the waiting.

“It’s like a giant erector set,” said Dan Daley, owner of the construction firm doing the work. “It’s just about together.”

Daley said the bleachers _ made by Dant Clayton Manufacturing _ will accommodate 1160 fans when  completed. The bleachers, which have greater than a 20-year life span, will be topped off with a press box.

Daley said work began on building the home field stands by pouring concrete footers more than two weeks ago. He said the crew ran into common soil problems which were overcome. Daley anticipates that within another couple weeks the stands will be completed.

ERHS Principal Tammy Helton said she did not know when an official dedication of the new stadium may take place.

The home stands of Raymond James Stadium were condemned by the City of East Ridge in late August of 2015. The nearly 60-year-old concrete structure had badly deteriorated and building officials here deemed them unsafe. Hamilton County Schools has had a long policy of not budgeting money for maintenance on athletic facilities like football stadiums, officials said.

The stands were razed last December in anticipation of rebuilding.

The new bleachers were purchased by  Hamilton County Schools at a cost of $309,000, officials said. The East Ridge High Alumni & Supporters Association _ a group formed after the old stadium was demolished _ has raised in excess of $70,000 in about a year with the aim of using the money to provide a field house and possibly other free standing structures at the stadium.

Dan Daley looks over blueprints of the bleachers being built at Raymond James Stadium.