The University’s Athletics Department claims it repairs broken seats within a reasonable amount of time, but students continue to file complaints to Student Government about unstable bleachers in the student section of Tiger Stadium.
Chas Kelly, SG’s director of athletics, said he noticed the broken bleachers last year, and when he was appointed to office, they were the first thing he wanted to address.
In May, he requested the University’s Athletic Department repair the bleachers, but Kelly said he didn’t notice any significant changes made.
“Not only is it an inconvenience for students, but it’s also a safety hazard,” Kelly said.
According to Kelly, the bleachers move back and forth, and some are cracked or broken in half.
Many times, students want to stand on the bleachers to get a better view of the game, and Kelly said he worries about students’ safety.
“We want to get these bleachers fixed as soon as possible,” he said.
Korey Jarrach, sports administration sophomore, said he noticed the bleachers were unstable during the game against Kentucky last Saturday.
“During the game, any time someone jumps up, the bleachers fall back and seem like they are about to break,” Jarrach said. “Last game, the bleachers flew forward, and people fell into the row in front of them.”
But according to Ronnie Haliburton, senior associate athletic director for facilities, the Athletic Department has not received any complaints from students at the game.
“When we get reports of broken seats, we take it serious and make necessary repairs,” he said. “Even during the game, we will address any reports the best we can.”
Haliburton said to prevent injuries, the members of the department will check seats before the game.
He said the current condition of the bleachers stems from the way the students stand on the bleachers, and he will look into alternative forms of bleachers, like concrete bleachers, in the future.
“We are in the process of looking into a better system,” he said. “We don’t want to take away from the excitement of the atmosphere, but the bleachers can’t stand almost 600 pounds of people standing and moving on them.”
Haliburton said he doesn’t know of any students who have gotten hurt during a game this season or last season due to bleacher incidents.
“No reports from EMS from injury specifically [caused by] the bleachers were reported,” he said. “We take pride in trying to make Tiger Stadium as safe and exciting as possible.”
Haliburton said students should report any broken seats to a ticket taker or any game management personnel in the area.
“If they can’t fix it right then and there, they will do what they can,” he said.
 
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]