BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) — The iconic Stone Castle in Bristol is receiving some upgrades.
In 2020, school leaders for Bristol, Tennessee City Schools received a complaint from the Office of Civil Rights. The complaint stated that the historic structure was not up to the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The renovations will help bring the stadium up to those standards.
“It is addressing the need to have access into the stadium, handicapped seating available, as well as ADA-compliant parking available,” Director of Schools Dr. Annette Tudor said.
At a work session Tuesday night, the first item discussed was the remaining funds needed to renovate parts of the Stone Castle. While the school has money budgeted for the project, the school still needs some financial assistance.
“So the scope of the work that we’re trying to accomplish is $3.6 million, and we have budgeted $3 million for that,” Tudor said. “So we’ve asked the city if they would contribute an additional $600,000 to complete the scope of that project.”
The renovation would include ramps into the stadium and handicapped seating on both the home and visitor sections. Much of the work has already begun, but the additional funding from the city would help to complete some alternative projects.
“We’re going to go ahead and initiate the major part of the work,” said Tudor. “And so we can wait for them to decide if they can help us or not.”
The goal is to start the next phase following the current football season and finish before the next season begins. Tudor said they are prepared for any bumps in the road.
“If not, we’ll put contingencies in place,” said Tudor. “And I think our fans hopefully will be very empathetic. They want to see the upgrades and they’ve definitely waited a long time for this. So I hope they’ll be patient with us.”
The City Council will discuss the request at its meeting next month.
