Gettysburg Area SD reviews $2.1 million team-room and visitor-bleacher bids amid safety and funding questions

The Gettysburg Area School District Board of Directors reviewed a lowest bid of about $2.108 million for a 3,200-square-foot team room and redevelopment of visitor-side bleachers, with discussion focused on whether to include a proposed viewing platform and walkway and on the source of project financing.

The proposal and the bid were discussed after public comment from Justine Zieg, a resident, who said the project “seems like, really gonna benefit solely the football players” and called the roughly $2,100,000 cost “a lot of money to benefit maybe about 70 athletes.”

Board members and district staff described the scope as a 3,200-square-foot box set into a hillside that would provide space that any team could use, with a central sports‑medicine area including hot tubs/ice baths, taping space, two storage locations and restrooms. Kevin (district staff) said the lowest overall bid, “including the MEP factors,” came in at roughly 2.108 (million), and that the home side of the facility would be slightly larger than the visitor side.

The administration said funding for the project would come from capital-reserve funds and previously authorized bond proceeds, and noted the bond money must be spent within the bond program timeline. “The Teamroom project is gonna be funded by some funds that were available in the capital reserve as well as the bond money,” a district official said, adding that the bond monies need to be spent down.

Board members pressed whether the project is a “must have” or a “nice to have” given possible future reductions in revenue. Several members noted the project was discussed repeatedly in finance and facilities committee meetings and that the district has previously identified the bleacher work and team room as capital priorities. Dr. Matzer, identified in the meeting as the district’s superintendent, said the team room aims to resolve longstanding space constraints dating to the middle-school construction and would provide nearer access for athletic trainers and shelter for teams during lightning or inclement weather.

A key point of contention was a proposed elevated viewing platform and walkway. The administration presented pricing for the platform and walkway and recommended omitting those two items if the board moves forward; board members raised safety and staffing concerns about a publicly accessible platform. One board member summarized the choice for future action: either follow the administration’s recommendation and leave the platform and walkway out of the project, or scrap the project altogether.

District staff also displayed an artist-style rendering that shows the building set into the hillside with a fence around the front; staff described two gated access points that would allow opposing-team personnel to be routed separately to locker-room areas.

No final construction contract award or motion to accept the bid was taken at this meeting; the team-room bid was presented as an informational item. The administration told the board that, should the matter move to action in a future meeting, the board would decide whether to accept the bids as presented or to exclude the viewing platform and walkway as the administration recommended.

The board also discussed related capital items, including turf replacement on the district’s capital plan for 2026–27, and were reminded the turf has continued to pass inspections and is not currently scheduled for replacement.

Board members asked the administration to provide further details and noted they could place the item on a future agenda for action if questions could not be answered in follow-up communications.

Votes at this meeting did not decide the team-room bid; funding and the bid recommendation were presented for board consideration and potential future action.