Press Box Condemned; Cda Ponders Options

The press box at Coeur d’Alene High’s Viking Field has been condemned after school maintenance workers discovered in November that the wooden supporting poles had rotted.

If possible, CdA athletic director Larry Schwenke hopes to salvage the multiple-level structure. The pressbox, built in the late 1970s through donations from local lumber yards, is considered one of the best facilities in the area.

One of the attractive features of the two-tier pressbox is a spacious room used to entertain boosters during football games.

Severe winds last fall prompted maintenance workers to inspect the poles, which were originally submerged in concrete. They discovered that the poles had suffered complete or partial rot, principal Steve Casey said.

Casey and Schwenke have met in the past week with architects and booster club members to consider options.

“We’re under a time line because we certainly want to have something in place by next fall,” Schwenke said.

Longtime booster Lee Shellman said school officials should do all they can to salvage the press box.

“New isn’t always nicer,” Shellman said. “Whatever is done, safety is most important.”

A conservative estimate for building a new pressbox, Casey said, is $100,000.

“It might cost more to try to salvage it, we don’t know at this point,” Casey said.

Across town, Lake City High has used a temporary pressbox attached to metal bleachers since the school opened in 1994.

Through district and donated labor, LC began building a permanent pressbox last summer in hopes that it would be completed and functional before the end of the football season. A brick foundation was erected, but a 7-room wooden top floor - to accommodate coaches, media, video, scoreboard operator, etc., - wasn’t completed.

LC principal John Brumley said the project should be completed this spring before the school hosts the annual Super-1/Reiswig Memorial track meet.

, DataTimes