INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — With concrete bleachers deemed unsafe sooner than anticipated, the Indian River County School Board Tuesday evening unanimously approved allocated $1.7 million to make the necessary repairs.
The money will come from funds the Board set aside as a transfer from the Capital Outlay fund to the General Fund.
Previously, the School Board approved $6 million for improvements to the Citrus Bowl. However, the Board did not anticipate needing to make improvements so soon.
Facilities Director Scott Sanders told the Board that people can expect to see work begin soon. The foundations, columns and beams will be left as they are but the bleachers themselves will be removed.
In their place will be aluminum stands, Sanders said.
He later adding that the District is partnering with Indian River County’s Coastal Engineering Department. He explained the concrete bleachers will be sunk off the coast as a reef.
That reef could be known as “Citrus Bowl Reef” or something akin to it, Sanders said.
The work will be considered the first phase of two to improve and refresh the stadium.
“It’s a special place,” Board Chair Matt McCain said of the Citrus Bowl, noting that only it and Sharks Stadium provide such a unique venue for the community.
