FORKS — When contractors pour 186 yards of concrete Monday to create the foundation for the new Spartan Stadium at Forks High School, it will be another visible reminder of progress on the $3.35 million grandstand replacement project.
The project, funded without a levy, has been in the works for almost 15 years. It is tentatively scheduled to be ready for the last home game of the football season on Oct. 28.
The new 1,136-seat modular and aluminum grandstand replaces the 60-year-old, 800-seat wood grandstand where crowds watched two generations of Forks athletes play.
Senior football player Matthew Wallerstedt, who plays right guard and defensive end, said he was looking forward to the new grandstand, even if might just be for one game.
“It’s bigger for more people and that means more noise and more excitement,” Wallerstedt said.
However, he said his father, Gus Wallerstedt, who also played football at Forks High School, had mixed feelings about the change.
“He said he was sad to see the old stadium go,” Matthew said. “But he was happy there’d be a new one and more people could come to games.”
Quillayute Valley School District Superintendent Diana Reaume said that she understood people feeling sentimental about the old grandstand and its distinctive Quonset hut roof.
“I’m a little bit nostalgic about it,” she said. “But I’m very excited about the new stadium and that we didn’t ask for any public dollars to pay for it.”
Reaume was about two years into her position as superintendent in November 2008 when the voters rejected two measures floated by the district — an $11 million bond to finance an addition to Forks High School and a $4 million bond to finance the construction of a new grandstand.
The school board decided to put plans for the grandstand replacement on hold and focus their efforts on pushing through an $11 million construction bond for a new high school, which passed February 2009.
In 2016, the district installed a $1.3 million turf field to replace a grass playing field with an uneven surface and a high crown so high Reaume joked that you could lose sight of small youth players when they ran over the top to the other side.
When it came to paying for a new grandstand, Quillayute Valley School District did not want to go back to voters. Instead it took advantage of an increase in timber revenue in the junior taxing district to transfer $2.2 million from its debt service fund to its capital project fund to pay for Phase I of the grandstand replacement project.
A committee from the community that had been working with the district on a design concept was prepared to make a presentation to the school board for approval when Covid-19 shut down public gatherings in March 2020.
As frustrating as the halt in progress was, Reaume said, it ended up being a blessing in disguise because it allowed more timber sale funds to build up and be dedicated to Phase 1, which was budgeted at $2.6 million. Groundbreaking for the new grandstand and ticket booth began June 20 and construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of October.
Phase II, which the board budgeted at $750,000, is scheduled to begin in 2023 and will include the construction of bathrooms adjacent to the grandstand, fencing, and site improvements like asphalting. The district will partner with the City of Forks in applying for state grant funding to pay for roughly half of the project.
“We will have something all of the community members can come to for a safe, modern and clean facility,” Reaume said, adding that it would not be known if the grant will be received until mid-October.
The district worked with BLRB Architects, the firm that designed the new high school, on the Spartan Stadium grandstand replacement project.
Of particular concern were safety and ADA accessibility. The old grandstand was not accessible to those with mobility issues who could not climb the stairs or who needed handrails.
The new grandstand will be ADA-compliant, including ramps that are easy to navigate and sturdy handrails. The old roof that left half of the crowd uncovered when it rained will be replaced by one that covers the stands and hangs over part of the track.
There are also less noticeable improvements that visitors won’t see but that were necessary, such as technology upgrades like WiFi and more electrical outlets.
Concessions will continue to be sold at the existing stand on the east side of the school and until the new grandstand opens, fans will sit in temporary aluminum bleachers on the east side of the field opposite where it is being constructed.
The new grandstand will be painted Navy blue with gold accents to match the Spartan team colors.
“There will be a surprise signature feature that we’ll brand our stadium with, but that’s going to be revealed later in the season,” Reaume said.
If the grandstand is ready Oct. 28, Forks will face off against Napavine — the same team that defeated the Spartans in the Central 2B North title game and then again in the 2B state quarterfinals last season.
Trevor Highfield, who is in his fourth season as head football coach, said that with 11 seniors, the team is in a good position to go deeper into the season that it did in 2021.
“They are especially excited about an opportunity to have an amazing facility for their family to come and watch them,” he said.
As for Reaume, she said that she can hardly wait to watch the concrete being poured on Monday.
“I’m so excited, I’m like a kid at Christmastime,” she said. “This has been a long time in coming.”
________
Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at Paula.Hunt@soundpublishing.com
