The Bleachers Are Free – Moving Them Could Cost Pleasant Hill $115,000

By Connie Whitlock
Publishing Editor

A set of bleachers being removed from Eklund Field could find a new home at the Cass County Fairgrounds, but council members want to know what Pleasant Hill would gain before spending the money.

The Pleasant Hill R-III School District is offering the City of Pleasant Hill a set of bleachers at no charge, potentially adding hundreds of seats at the Cass County Fairgrounds. 

Getting the free bleachers to the fairgrounds and ready for use could cost the city approximately $115,000. Heartland Seating Manufacture initially installed the bleachers on the school grounds and would be hired to move them to the Fairgrounds. 

The opportunity came before the Pleasant Hill City Council Monday night.

Why the bleachers are available

The bleachers currently sit on the south side of Eklund Field at the middle school. As part of the school district’s bond project, they are scheduled to be removed to make room for an expanded seating system that will become the home side for sporting events at the field.

Wilson said the school district has given the city the first opportunity to take the existing bleachers. “The school board has communicated with Dr. Burke, the superintendent, that they’re offering them to the city first at no charge,” Wilson told the council.

She said the district reasoned that taxpayers had already paid for the bleachers once, and transferring them to the city would keep them serving essentially the same taxpayers.

Free bleachers, but not a free project

While the city would not have to purchase the bleachers themselves, moving and installing them is another matter.

Wilson said Heartland Seating, the company associated with the seating system, quoted $68,185 to remove the bleachers from Eklund Field, transport them to the fairgrounds, and reset them on a site prepared by the city.

The bleachers must sit on an appropriate concrete foundation with piers, adding substantially to the cost. When the site preparation is included, Wilson estimated the overall project at approximately $115,000.

The proposed location would be on the north side of the rodeo arena, where an older set of bleachers currently sits.

How much seating would Pleasant Hill gain?

That became one of the big questions during the council discussion.

The existing north-side bleachers at the fairgrounds are approximately 10 rows high and provide about 940 linear feet of seating, according to Wilson. The Eklund Field bleachers are eight rows but provide approximately 1,056 linear feet of seating.

But simply comparing those two numbers doesn’t tell the entire story.

The existing fairground bleachers would not necessarily be discarded. They could be moved elsewhere on the property and used for events where seating is currently limited.

Former councilman JW Hanes raised that distinction during the discussion, estimating the move could create roughly 500 to 550 additional seating spaces across the fairgrounds.

The older bleachers could provide additional seating at events such as the demolition derby, motocross or tractor pull. However, exactly where those bleachers would go hasn’t been decided. That concern came up during the discussion.

The $115,000 price tag also raises the question of whether the bleachers could eventually pay for themselves. If relocating the existing north-side bleachers creates roughly 500 additional seats for other ticketed fairground events, those seats could generate new revenue. At an average ticket price of $15, filling 500 additional seats would produce about $7,500 in gross admission revenue per event. If that happened at several events each year, the investment could be recovered over time, especially when you include additional concession and beverage sales. However, there isn’t enough information yet to say the project would pay for itself. That would depend on where the existing bleachers are relocated, how many additional tickets they can actually sell, ticket prices, attendance, and how often the additional seating is used.

Councilwoman Jessica Elliott said she wanted a more defined plan before the city committed to the expenditure. “I just want to know what the numbers we have right now are, what we will be getting, and what your plan is for putting those other bleachers,” Elliott said. “Where are you going to put them?”

Fair attendance is creating a seating problem

The discussion came immediately after Wilson presented numbers showing the 2026 Cass County Fair drew an estimated 17,367 people, a 13 percent increase over the previous year.

Staff believes the fair may now be reaching the property’s practical capacity on its busiest nights.

Wilson described Saturday night of this year’s fair as possibly the busiest the facility has ever experienced and said staff had to stop selling rodeo tickets when people who had purchased tickets earlier returned from the carnival and quickly filled the available seats. Seating is an issue at other events, too.

Wilson said staff tries to warn attendees when an event has reached standing-room-only conditions because they don’t want someone buying a ticket without realizing they may not be able to find a place where they can adequately see the event.

“We can’t even guarantee that you’re going to get close enough to see,” Wilson said of some situations. That makes the Eklund Field offer particularly timely.

A decision will have to come soon

Council members appeared interested in the opportunity but weren’t ready Monday night to commit approximately $115,000 without additional information. The city doesn’t have much time to decide.

The school district’s construction schedule calls for removing the Eklund Field bleachers after the fall sports season so the replacement seating can be installed in time for spring activities. Wilson said Heartland Seating needs an answer so the company can schedule the work.

Council asked staff to come back with more information. The council could then decide whether spending roughly $115,000 to relocate a free set of bleachers represents a worthwhile investment in a fairgrounds facility that city officials have already identified as a priority for future improvements.

The bleachers themselves may be free. The question now is whether the opportunity is worth the cost.