OLEAN, N.Y. — Permanent bathrooms are returning to Bradner Stadium.
In a special vote taken during the Common Council’s legislative session, city lawmakers approved an approximately $452,000 contract with Kinley Contracting to construct a new field house at the 86-year-old sports facility.
The new 1,450-square-foot building will be built at the sports facility’s northeastern corner, where its ticket booth once stood. It will boast restrooms and a concession stand.
“Our plan back in the day was to have a field house that had restrooms, a concession stand and locker rooms,” said Tom Windus, Public Works director. “But looking at the funding we have and the ability to do something now, we had to prioritize. We feel what we’ve come up with is the best solution — it’s in a central location.”
“For those of you who remember the old place where the restrooms were, it kind of became a hangout and you had to walk away from the stadium to get to it,” Mayor Bill Aiello added. “This new field house is just going to be in a better spot, a lot closer, and will be easier for the (disabled) to access.”
In 2008, the city tore down the stadium’s last field house, as the facility had become dilapidated and became unsafe for use. Since then, the facility has been outfitted with portable toilets.
“Nothing against the porta-johns, but having them at the stadium is getting pretty old,” Windus said.
Kinley crews “are ready to go within a week,” Windus said.
‘If we can get started on this right away, they can have the shell of the building up this fall and be able to work inside it so it’s ready by spring,” he said.
The new field house will be the latest upgrade to the stadium in its ongoing restorations.
At the end of the 2013-14 budget year, city officials approved allocating $1.5 million of the city’s surplus toward renovations. That money has been used to fund several initiatives at the facility, including the installation of new aluminum bleachers installed, new lights and a new sound system, renovations to its drainage system and new fencing, among other projects. The tunnel connecting the stadium to neighboring War Veterans Park also was refurbished and made the main entrance to the sports venue.
The field house is being paid for using the remaining balance of the $1.5 million, which totals $343,000, and $200,000 grant of casino revenue-sharing money given to the city from the county in June.
