Published: 2 August 2016

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Bleacher seating

In the world of school athletics, things are never static. In a single season, multiple sports can have games on the same day, and this means seating for parents, fans, and students. It would be nice if they all shared the same field and took turns using it, but we all know this isn’t the case.

With each sport having its own playing field, it’s difficult for schools to furnish them all with seating. Sure, you can spread funding around and give each field a mediocre seating arrangement, but there are much better options out there.

New designs and mechanics have given way to portable bleachers that are often much more comfortable than the stationary ones they will replace. Schools can put multiple sets together in order to provide seating for a large event. Versatility is much better than rigid and expensive options, which is why these 5 scenarios are only some of the reasons to get portable bleacher seats.

Large Events – If your school is in the position to host a large sporting event like state championships or a big meet, portable bleachers will allow you to easily put together seating for all in attendance. These types of events can be stressful and even impossible for some schools to handle, but allowing yourself the option to do so can mean bringing in funding for your school.
Winter Storage – For those schools with harsh winters, having the option to store bleacher seating inside is a must. This will greatly prolong the life of bleachers and means tons of money saved on equipment. Many options are easily collapsible so they won’t take up much room in storage.
Seating for Non-athletic events – Schools are always having non-athletic events that require seating. Portable stadium seats make sure you can host these events anywhere instead of strictly at sports fields.
Easy Future Redesigning – If your school ever needed to rearrange the sports fields, stationary bleachers would make this process unnecessarily difficult. While it doesn’t happen a lot, there are times when the fields need to be switched around or there is a total redesign. When planning, make sure it’s easy for future generations.
Many Events – Track meets are good examples, and there are plenty of other times where your school hosts multiple events at once. With dynamic portable bleachers, all of these events can have their own designated seating area so that things can take place all at the same time.

Carroll Seating Company is ahead of its time with portable and easily portable bleachers. In order to save your school time and money, Contact us today to see how much more efficiently your sports areas can be arranged.

Published: 13 May 2016

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

Seating Options Make a Difference

One things is true of every event and venue across the country – the seating makes the difference in many things. Whether the seating influences the ticket price, creates value for the event, enhances the experience or brands your event, it plays a critical role in how your venue is received. In many cases, seating can mean the difference between a great experience or one that a customer will not return to. Take these ideas into consideration and then take a fresh look at your space.

First, give some thought to the kinds of events that you will need seating for. Sports events have a different level of wear and tear on seating than auditorium events will. Are you looking to repair the seating at an existing venue, or are you trying to create a new space for new events? If you are trying to generate interest in a rarely used hall space, then portable solutions may be your best option. Identify two to three key uses for your space and then determine what seating options you will need.

This is especially important for getting multiple uses out of one space. Seating can often make the difference between being able to have a variety of events in one location or being a “one trick pony.” Gyms are a perfect example. Seating along with other sports solutions for a wide variety of choices can increase usability. By simply investing in some divider curtains, wall padding and scoreboards, your gym or rec center can become a multifunctional space with ease.

Make a statement with specialized interior designs. High paying clients at events expect to be treated differently than typical bleachers, so personalized boxes, where possible, not only bring additional revenue in the way of corporate sponsorships, etc., but create a feeling of exclusivity for your clients. Even if you are looking at high quality portable seats on a lower budget, think about creating “ VIP tables” with upholstery and logos that stand in opposition to basic folding metal chairs.

Is your seating ADA-friendly? Today’s modern venues should be ADA compliant, not only because it is the law, but because it gives the opportunity for a wide variety of audiences to enjoy the venue. Customized seating choices can make events more accessible for everyone – growing your revenue and increasing your goodwill in the process.

Brand your space through your seating choices. Think of the fan section at any major stadium. Branding happens in a variety of ways, and your seating choices can be among the best of them. Whether you go for custom colors, create a branded “fan section” or “elite black label” space, don’t overlook the opportunity to create a customized experience that promotes the brand, the franchise or the venue.

Take another look at your space. Where could seating make the difference?

Published: 9 May 2016

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Bleacher seating

Carroll Seating and Hussey Seating know that adding customized school logos, mascots and emblems to your telescoping bleacher system can enhance school spirit. Using a special process we transform ordinary plain bleachers into the ultimate gymnasium to inspire your students, athletes and community. The designs are permanently bonded ensuring no peeling or scratching. The options for customization are endless: media platforms, end curtains to block unauthorized persons from climbing under the bleachers, colored railings, portable courtside seats. Schools can even use the space as a fundraising opportunity and sell the StepSigns to local business as advertising space.

As your Hussey Seating dealer our design team will work to create the right customizations for your facility, needs and of course budget. Contact our Kansas City design team at 816-471-2929.

Published: 21 April 2016

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Gym and Sports Equipment

There is nothing better than the opening day of baseball season! The great American pastime has generational connections to the stadium, the team and the experience. In fact, as any baseball fan can tell you, the experience is the best part. Going to the stadium, getting great seats, buying a hot dog and wearing team colors are often what bring back the best memories, whether the team won their season or not. Is your baseball seating up to date? Take a few moments to consider how you could bring a better experience to the fans.

Flexibility, reliability and value are key components of baseball seating. After all, you want audiences to enjoy this seating for years to come, not to continue to do costly repairs. With the seating comes ease of cleaning, as every event brings a significant amount of trash. Outdoor grandstands and bleachers must be put in to accommodate the excitement of the audience as well as the harshest weather.

Consider whether your seating is ADA compliant, so that audiences of all kinds can enjoy the event. Whether it comes to sight lines or spacing, creating customized seating is the best way to ensure that you have something to offer for every kind of audience.

Of course, no seating is complete without a designated fan section, and the colors, backrests and seating capabilities will ensure that the fans get into the spirit of the game, whether it is opening day or a tournament. Don’t forget about that locker room. Are the lockers in sufficient condition? Do you have enough seating in the room?

Ultimately, seating in a venue is designed to bring a project to a wide variety of audiences. The kind of world-quality seating that Carroll provides can make any event extraordinary.

Published: 25 June 2015

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Bleacher seating

How important are bleachers at sporting events? Just as the members of The Cubs baseball organization, which has recently seen the opening of a large section of renovated bleachers. The left and center field sections had been closed to the public, while crews worked to install the new and improved seating. Now, though, there is more seating, upgraded concession areas, plus additional standing-room only areas. The team and the Wrigley Field staff are thrilled, as is the public, who were quick to fill in the new sections of bleachers. There will even be a special event, coming soon, to celebrate the new improvements.

While it might not be necessary to go through such fanfare over new bleachers on a school field, bleachers are generally a welcomed addition to such atmospheres. In fact, some schools have so fully embraced the idea of incorporating new seating that they have crafted community building events around the installations. Mercer is a school in Michigan, and there you will currently find students of the technological education classes busy installing new bleachers. The seating will surround the local baseball field, and will provide spectators will a great view of the games. The town’s park committee purchased bleacher kits, which must be assembled. In exchange for the students’ labor, the school will receive new tools for future projects like this one. More importantly, the supervisors hope that the effort will instill community spirit in the students.

The truth is, that is what bleachers do – they bring communities together. As the fans cheer on sons, daughters, brothers, grandkids, and friends, they are bonding with each other over the game. All of that takes place in the bleachers. It is when the seating cannot accommodate the crowds, or when the bleacher systems are too old to be deemed safe by spectators that the sport loses some of its appeal. If that sounds familiar, then perhaps it is time for your organization to follow in the footsteps of Wrigley Field… or, at least, consider a project like that taking place in Michigan.

At Carroll Seating Company, we’ll work with you on a seating solution tailored to your space. Contact us to learn more about Hussey Bleacher Systems for your next project. To find out more, call us at 847-434-0909 or visit us online.

Published: 4 March 2015

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Bleacher seating

Complying with ADA regulations in a gymnasium or arena setting can be nothing short of frustrating. After all, few bleacher systems have the ability to ensure you’re giving everyone the seating opportunities needed, and while you certainly don’t want to exclude any patrons, landing on the perfect solution can be frustrating. Finally, there’s one option you can look to for easy ADA compliance – Flex-Row systems by Hussey Seating.

What Is It?

Imagine traditional bleacher seating with one integral change, you can eliminate parts of the first row to help give you a number of different seating options. Push in a few seats or several. Flex-Row puts the options back in your hands.

Discover The Hidden Power

Flex-Row seating systems mean an endless variety of options on the first row. You can lock in different layouts for every single game, giving you a number of different ADA solutions. Entire parts of the first row are removable, so whether you have a challenging event that needs something a bit different, you need room for a scoring table, or you need wheelchair space for patrons, you have the options at your fingertips. Perhaps the best part of this equation is that if you need only a single row of seating, Flex-Row is still operational with the rest of the system in the fully closed position. It’s not only the best way to make certain your facility remains ADA compliant, but it’s also the best way to make certain you have the flexibility you need for almost any event or sport that you need to host.

Flex-Row systems mean more choices, no matter what activities or events you plan to host. To learn more about how Flex-Row systems might fit in with your seating plan, contact us today. We offer a level of personalized service few others in the industry can match.

Published: 20 May 2014

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: School seating, Seating Solutions

Even if your outdoor seating system has served you well in the past, all good things must come to an end at some point. When is the end of outdoor seating and what are your options for replacement? Do some exploration now.

The End is Near

You may realize that it’s time to update or replace your outdoor seating options when a number of different situations occur. First, if your crowd size has simply outgrown what once worked for your facility, you may want to look at doing some updates. If, for example, you currently have a solid set of bleachers on a school football field but your population has tripled in size since the bleachers were installed, it may be time to look to additional bleachers or other options entirely. Continue to abuse the bleachers with too much weight, and you could have a real safety issue on your hands.

Another reason you may need to make some changes is that your current system has been in use too long. If, during a routine safety inspection, you realize that things just don’t look as sturdy as they once did, replacement is the only option to consider. Thanks to the elements, outdoor seating systems do actually expire, and paying attention to that end when it happens is essential to protect your patrons.

What’s Next?

Fortunately, once you do decide that it’s time to make some replacements, you have lots of different options available. From traditional aluminum bleachers to powder coated amazement as well as custom layouts, we have the outdoor seating options your field needs, no matter what. Contact us today to learn more about your options or for an outdoor seating inspection to determine if your patrons can continue using your current seating choices safely.

Published: 2 October 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Bleacher seating

In an outdoor environment, even the best seating choices can wear down over time. Wonder how to make the most of your budget? Here are a few options you may want to consider.

Bleachers or Fixed Seating?

The first choice you have to make is whether you want to go with bleachers or fixed seating. While both have their benefits, the real dictator of which is right for your environment is going to depend on your available space. Fixed seating is durable and comfortable and very able to withstand the elements with the right coating, but it may not fit in every stadium. Careful measurement will be key. Bleacher seating can be far more space effective in some cases.

The Right Material

The type of seating isn’t half as important in terms of durability as the material your seating choice is constructed from. You have two basic options – aluminum and a surface coated in vinyl. Both are very durable when it comes to weathering, but there are a few things you may want to be aware of as you make your decision. Aluminum won’t rust or corrode, so it tends to last a bit longer than vinyl coated choices, but there’s one big drawback – the sun. In the summer heat, aluminum bleachers can get very hot, forcing your spectators to make other choices when it comes to seating. Vinyl clad seats will last almost as long, but they’re cooler even in the heat of the summer and quite a bit more comfortable too.

Outdoor environments have it much harder than indoor arenas when it comes to seating, but once you make the right choice, you’re certain to enjoy the roar of the crowd in the middle of a great game.