Beech football stadium bleacher collapse means opener could be moved

A portion Beech High School's football bleachers on the visitor's side of Shackle Island Stadium collapsed Monday night forcing the school to scramble to get ready for Friday's season opener against Station Camp.

No one was on the bleachers when it collapsed, according to Beech coach Anthony Crabtree. The Bucs are scheduled to host Station Camp at 7 p.m. Friday.

The visitor's side bleachers will be removed and the school plans to place temporary bleachers in time for Friday's game, according to a letter that Sumner County director of schools Scott Langford sent to Sumer County families.

"We are thankful that no one was in the bleachers at the time this occurred, and most importantly, that no one was injured," Langford said. "Our first commitment is to ensure that our students and families are safe."

Days of wind and heavy rain in Middle Tennessee likely caused the collapse, according to the letter. Beech principal Kenneth Powell informed Langford about the collapse Tuesday morning and a maintenance team has been on site preparing for the removal of the collapsed portion.

Structural engineers will be at the school Wednesday to examine the home-side bleachers.

"We will have the structural engineer inspect all of the bleachers in Sumner County," Langford said. "We will review the report in detail with the engineer and make recommendations to our school board to address any needed repairs."

Beech installed artificial turf in the summer of 2020, and is coming off a 13-2 season last year in which it advanced to the Class 6A state championship game, losing to Oakland. The Bucs were 8-0 at home, including two playoff games and have won 14 straight games at Shackle Island Stadium.

"We will update the community regarding Friday’s game once these assessments are complete," Langford said. "Our goal is to have everything ready for Friday night's game against Station Camp, however, we are also working on a contingency plan to move the game to an alternate site if necessary. We will notify parents by Thursday if the game will be played at an alternate location."

Reach sports writer George Robinson at [email protected] and on Twitter @Cville_Sports.