Board OKs Remodel

Boosters To Go From Tent To Concession Stand

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

— Band boosters at Rogers High School will move from a tent to a concession stand once construction approved Tuesday night by the School Board is complete.

Board members gave two projects the thumbs up: a phase I remodel of the Annex for a New Tech-affiliate high school; and the visitor concession stands at Rogers High School that were part of the original construction plan. Architects and construction managers were assigned to both projects through the board vote. Construction bids will come through the construction managers, said David Cauldwell, business manager.

The technology-focused New Tech high school is slated to open in fall 2013 with 300 ninth- and 10th-grade students. The remodel of the Annex will combine small classrooms into larger ones and is estimated to cost $1.5 million. During the meeting Lance Arbuckle, assistant principal at Rogers High School, was approved as director of the new school.

The concession stand addition was part of the stadium’s construction plans but was removed when the project looked as if it was over budget, Cauldwell said. A concrete pad and utilities are in place. Cauldwell estimated the project could cost $150,000.

The concession stand will be a welcome change said, Roger Moore, vice president of the band booster club at Rogers High School. Parents have been starting at noon to get drink machines in place and running out to get donated ice. Equipment is stored in parent houses and it takes three parents to set up the two 12-foot tents that house booster club concessions on the visitor side.

The first game of the season opened with a downpour that postponed games around the state, Moore said. The tents were pitched and as the squall line moved through four parents stood outside to hold the tents down. The booster club took pictures of their plight and enlisted the help of Principal Robert Moore.

“We were one lightning strike from losing the whole booster board,” Roger Moore said.

Concessions at home games are the primary fundraiser for band boosters.