May 5, 2008

The first of two public forums on the proposed changes to W.O. Smith Field was held Sunday afternoon at Chester High School.

About a dozen people turned out for the 4pm forum to share their thoughts on the proposed changes with members of the Board of Education of Chester Unit School District #139.

It has been a long standing tradition for Jacket football fans to sit on the west side of W.O. Smith Field but this proposal calls for the home side to switch to the east side and that has been met with some opposition by CHS alumni.

There are two options for Jacket football fans. The first would be to install the new bleachers and pressbox at Smith Field which the board says they have the money to do now. The other option is to install visiting bleachers at a lower cost, similar to what was there before, and leave Smith Field the way it is.

The initial cost for the first phase of the renovation is around $450,000. The proposal would call for bleachers with a total seating capacity of 1,200 which would include 208 chair seats, 972 bench seats and 12 wheelchair seats along with eight companion seats for the total of 1,200.

The 208 chair seats could be sold as season tickets to Yellow Jacket football fans. The chair seats would be colored and which visible from the other side would make a huge letter "C".

The width of the entire proposed seating area would be just over 138 feet wide. Include would be a two-tier pressbox that would be 12 feet wide and 30 feet long. The pressbox would have the words "W.O. Smith Field" above the windows and "The Home of the Yellow Jackets" below them.

Another public forum will be held Tuesday night at 7pm in the cafeteria at Chester High School. The public is encouraged to attend the public forum and share their thoughts on the proposed changes.