Westminster High School's 5,000-seat grandstand is unsafe and is to be closed to spectators until completion of repairs costing an estimated $200,000.
After two inspections of bleachers and a recommendation from the county's insurer, the Carroll County Board of Education has put the home grandstand off limits for the spring sports season and possibly for longer.
The stadium needs a complete overhaul, officials said.
"The stands are removed from service until we can accomplish )) repairs recommended by an independent bleachers manufacturer," said Vernon F. Smith, director of school support services.
Mr. Smith stopped short of saying the stands have been condemned, insisting that "out of service" is a more accurate statement of the condition of the 20-year-old concrete, aluminum and wood grandstand.
"The current grandstand appears to be structurally sound and our recommendation would be to renovate as opposed to replace," said a report prepared by Dant Clayton Corp., a Louisville, Ky., engineering company. The report also recommended that the county undertake another complete structural analysis of the stadium.
The cost to rebuild a stadium would be about $700,000. Repairs are estimated at about $200,000, depending on the cost of aluminum, which would replace the wooden floor boards.
Aluminum prices have increased 50 percent since last year, according to the report. A safety specialist for the Great American Insurance Co. said the stadium walk boards have deteriorated and should be replaced.
The insurer also recommends installation of new fencing to separate the stands and the playing field. The contractor also should fill in the empty spaces behind the footboards with aluminum back guards.
The estimated $200,000 repair bill, a late addition to the county's fiscal 1996 capital improvements budget, has not yet been approved.
"I am optimistic that the justification for the repair exists and the work can begin as soon as possible," said Mr. Smith.
"We hope the county can pull together the financial resources to award a bid this spring and commence as soon as possible."
Mr. Smith said he hopes to be able seek bids by March 31 so the work can be completed by the start of the fall sports season in late August.
am still working through the budget and don't have optimism or pessimism regarding the project," said Steven D. Powell, county director of management and budget.
Last summer, the county was made aware of the stadium's defects, as contractors were preparing to modify stands at all five county high schools to bring them into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Dant Clayton Corp. found that the Westminster stands were in need of major repairs and refused to prepare job specifications for the ADA work, which has since been completed at the other four schools.
"There appeared to be more work necessary at Westminster High than simply making the stands accessible to the handicapped," Mr. Smith said.
After another inspection and evaluation, R. J. McCarville Associates of Emmitsburg reached the same conclusion about the Westminster bleachers.
The county has replaced wood decking in different sections since the stadium was opened about 20 years ago, but much of the original timber remains.
"A lot of the timbers have aged out and should be replaced with aluminum," Mr. Smith said. "There should be a complete, thorough overhaul."
In a letter dated Feb. 15, Mr. Smith notified the school, which, with about 2,000 students, has the largest enrollment in the county.
Ropes will surround the stadium and the staff will not allow anyone to use the seats. The press box at the top level of the grandstand will remain open.
Westminster Principal Sherri-Le W. Bream said the visitors' stand and several portable stands will be adequate to handle crowds during the season that begins in about three weeks.
"Spring sports are not as big a draw," she said. "In the fall, it would be a bigger problem, if the work is not completed."
Those who want to root for the lacrosse and track teams will have to walk across the field and share space in the visitors' stand.
The invitational track meet scheduled for April 7 will probably draw the largest crowd of the spring season.
About seven schools compete in that event and students often fill the stands as they wait to compete.