Another $10 million worth of reasons for Richland sports fans to cheer
Contractors with Richland School District recently began tearing up track and moving earth at Fran Rish Stadium in an effort to get $10 million of improvements finished by this fall.
Crews with Chervenell Construction, the general contractor, are currently pouring new footing for ramps, grading the area where the new ticket booth and restroom facility will be. And they are installing new plumbing and drainage lines, said district spokesman Ty Beaver.
The signature shell of the home-side bleachers will remain and house a new seating area for Bombers fans, Beaver said.
Funding for the project stems from a $99 million bond proposal voters approved back in February 2017. Richland also received about $42 million in capital assistance funding from Washington state.
The bond also raised money for a new administrative center, four new elementary schools, to develop an early learning center and to improve athletic facilities at Hanford High School.
The Fran Rish project aims to “update and enhance the field and the home side bleachers” of the facility, according to information on the district’s website.
The project will be completed just in time for football. Chervenell expects to be finished by August. Work began earlier this year.
Here’s what else will be new at the 9,000-seat stadium, located at the Lee Boulevard-Wellsian Way intersection: Contractors will install artificial turf, resurface the track, install new home-side grandstand bleachers, as well as build new restrooms, locker rooms and a training space.
Spring sport athletes will use nearby fields and facilities during construction, and Hanford High School will play host to the school’s home track and field events, Beaver said.
