Gilmer stadium story

[3afan]

from Tyler paper:

Gilmer Adds 250 New Seats To Buckeye Stadium

BY PHILLIP WILLIAMS
Sports Correspondent

GILMER—The Gilmer Independent School District recently added 250 seats to the visitors’ side stands at Buckeye Stadium, said GISD superintendent Rick Albritton.

The $69,500 project was aimed at accommodating the Gilmer Buckeye Band and Stars drill team, which were moved to the visitors’ side this year to free up bleachers on the home side, Albritton said.

With the Gilmer Buckeyes’ success in football in recent seasons, “We have had a lot of large crowds over the last three years, and they are not diminishing,” Albritton said Thursday.

Gilmer hasn’t lost at home since 2002, having won 22 straight at Buckeye Stadium. Starting with the 2004 season opener, Jeff Traylor’s team has triumphed in 39 of its last 42 games, and won the 2004 Class 3A Division II state championship.

The Buckeyes, who had an open date Friday, are 3-0 so far this season. The new bleachers were erected after Gilmer’s Aug. 31 season opener at home, and were put into use Sept. 14 when Gilmer downed Daingerfield, 35-12.

Albritton said GISD awarded the contract for the stands to Sturdy Steel of Waco in May. He said the stands were scheduled to be erected in time for the Daingerfield game because it was originally scheduled to be the Buckeyes’ first home contest.

However, Gilmer scheduled a home game with Richwood, La., to start the season Aug. 31 (the Buckeyes won, 39-0).

While Gilmer’s football success (74-14 under Traylor starting with the 2000 season) was part of the reason for adding the bleachers, Albritton added that the “community of Gilmer believes in their kids, and supports them at everything

[pirate4state]

:thinking: So their band & drill team sit on the visitors side??? :confused: Why not just put those seats on the home side or put the band/drill team on the track? This seems odd to me.


It's like Cuero's home side - their band takes up an entire section. At least one section of the visitors side is Cuero fans.

Very strange.

[lostaussie]

Originally posted by pirate4state
:thinking: So their band & drill team sit on the visitors side??? :confused: Why not just put those seats on the home side or put the band/drill team on the track? This seems odd to me.


It's like Cuero's home side - their band takes up an entire section. At least one section of the visitors side is Cuero fans.

Very strange. not any more room. they would have actually had to go in the end zone if not on the visitors side.

[STANG RED]

Originally posted by lostaussie
not any more room. they would have actually had to go in the end zone if not on the visitors side.

Sweetwaters Band and student section used to be on the visitors side. But there got to be too much whinning and complaining from visiting teams, so they moved them to the home side several years ago. It only became an issue when we dropped to 3A though, and the other district schools got together and forced it. For some reason it was never an issue at the 4A level. At least none that I ever heard of.

[pirate4state]

Here is the solution as presented to me by someone else :D

"The ideal set up would be to have each band on the opposite side from their fans. They would be at the end of the field sitting in seats that are slightly angled towards their fans. The bands would be sitting in opposite corners."


Let the band play on!! :D

I was at our JV game last week and couldn't get over how quiet it was without a band. :(