Greyhounds movin' on up: PHS boosters donate funding for new press boxes
Moscow Pullman Daily News
March 19, 2011
(With slight editing by blog editor.)
Starting this fall, home and visiting high school football coaches will no longer have to sit outside at old, blue wooden desks during games.
Area radio stations calling games and reporters also will have the luxury of sitting indoors, avoiding the Palouse's often inclement autumn weather.
The Pullman High School Booster Club donated $47,128 for two new press box buildings to be located above the western side of the field. They will be constructed off-site by Design Space Modular Buildings of Airway Heights.
Each will be 20-by-8 feet and will house coaches, scorekeepers, announcers and media.
What makes the structures unique is that they're moveable. If further developing is done to Hobbs Field, PHS’s football and track & field venue, the buildings can be converted to concession stands or just picked up and moved to another area of the school.
The current press box situation consists of a small cement building. It's usually cramped with people during football games, said PHS Athletic and Activities Director Mike Davis.
The new buildings will benefit football and track, he said, by being what's "appropriate and expected" of a school PHS's size.
"We're probably the only 2A school that I'm aware of in the state of Washington that hasn't had a place for coaches and media," he said.
While press boxes elsewhere vary, coaches and the media were always safe from the weather - a luxury PHS doesn't currently have.
They're usually outside during Greyhound events, he said, "exposed to whatever the weather conditions are on a given night. Sometimes nice, sometimes not so nice."
PHS often hosts postseason events for other schools as a neutral site, but their current facility isn't sufficient for that.
"If you don't have (press boxes), you're not considered an appropriate site," he said. Hosting out-of-the-area sporting events brings people into town who can use hotels, restaurants and other establishments.
Davis said this project is a continuation of the community's dedication to develop PHS's sports facilities, including donations for soccer fields and a baseball diamond.
"Many people in our booster club and community have recognized for years that we have a very unique facility, and it's a great place to watch high school football," he said.
That's part of the reason why the booster club has set aside about $47,000 over the last five years.
President and Treasurer Jim VanOrden said they developed other plans for how to build the press boxes, but the price tag was much higher - one was comparable to a the price of a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house and would involve on-site construction.
That would mean paying a contractor for employees' wages.
"If it was built off-site, we could avoid that," he said.
The boosters host a variety of events, including membership drives, a Christmas tree sale and an auction.
"That's where the business community really steps up and supports the school," VanOrden said, and the auction brings in about $28,000.
There was a surplus from various fundraising efforts, and the group had to decide what they wanted to do with it.
So in 2006, they dedicated $20,000 to a fund for press boxes. Another $10,000 was put into the account in June 2007, and $15,000 in 2009.
Their last contribution of a little more than $2,000 brought their total dedication to $47,128.
"We're not really in the business of hoarding wealth," he said. "We wanted to spend it on the kids."
The Pullman School Board accepted the gift at its March 9 meeting.