On April 17th, 2007, Blue Sky Soccer reported  on the changes and improvements at James Griffin stadium. In a return trip to The Jimmy on Friday afternoon April 27th, most of the work seems to be progressing nicely.  The majority of the improvements look as if they will be done by Sunday May 6th, the opener for the Minnesota Thunder. Frerichs Structural has already started on the demolition of the outside of the north side of the stadium. The top two rows of those north stands have already been fenced off, the top fencing removed and the brick at the top of the stadium also removed.

Nate Galloway, athletic director of St. Paul Central High School does not want to paint a completely negative picture of the remodeling of James Griffin stadium, but he certainly is not happy with the Department of Facility Planning for the St. Paul Public Schools.

Galloway likes the overall changes at James Griffin Stadium, home of the Minnesota Thunder also affectionately known as "The Jimmy". He likes the widened track and the new rubber surface that will eventually go down on the track. He also thinks there is great value in the new handicap accessibility of the remodeled stadium. He just questions some of the planning that was done and implemented in the new design.

Perhaps the worst issue that seems to plague the stadium is the new elevated walkways. These handicap accessible walkways were rebuilt at the same level as the first rows of bench seating. Not only did they elevate the walkway, but they also placed fencing up along the double railing, making it all but impossible to see the field from the first row. The view is also partially  obstructed from the second row.

"You would think the architects that planned this would have had some athletic stadium background, but it sure doesn't seem like it." said Galloway. "You have to sit in the 4th or 5th row before you are unobstructed by aisle traffic and the first two rows are obstructed by the fencing and rails".

It was also noted that the handicap accessible areas are also obstructed by fencing and railings and would be obstructed with aisle traffic as well. There are 15 of these areas in the north stands and 12 in the south for a total of 27 spots.

At first the amount of wheelchair accessible spots seem excessive, but in checking with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Blue Sky Soccer discovered that the requirement for accessible seating for all new stadium construction is 1%. In this case, The Jimmy has approximately 4000 seats, so it would mean that 40 spots would be required for people with handicaps. However, since the stadium is an existing facility, it is expected that requirements are not as stringent.  The ADA also has requirements for unobstructed site lines of those handicap spaces.

Wheelchair seating locations must provide lines of sight comparable to those provided to other spectators. In stadiums where spectators can be expected to stand during the show or event (for example, football, baseball, basketball games, or rock concerts), all or substantially all of the wheelchair seating locations must provide a line of sight over standing spectators. A comparable line of sight, as illustrated in the figure below, allows a person using a wheelchair to see the playing surface between the heads and over the shoulders of the persons standing in the row immediately in front and over the heads of the persons standing two rows in front.  - ADA 

In this case of the newly remodeled Griffin stadium, the seats are comparable to the first row seats but they certainly are not unobstructed by standing passersby's or fencing.

Nate Galloway also noted that when construction workers notched out the spots for these handicap accessible areas they left hazards everywhere. 10" high gaps can be found on each side of these areas and many of the cuts made to the steel and cement were left raw with sharp metal edges and jagged cement left exposed. Some spots have rebar type wire twisting out from the cement towards the platforms. 

The cement walkway adjacent to the new aluminum walkway was also found to have some rather large gaping holes that seem to need repair.  When pointing the flaws out the Athletic Director said, "O.S.H.A. is going to have a field day with this."

In the stadium itself, the ramps looked nearly done. Seating and fencing seemed to be in place except for some clean up. But other concerns surfaced when walking through the stadium.

The first thing noticed was that the south entrance cement work has a large step down to get to the handicap accessible ramp. No ramp from the apron approach to the handicap ramp on the south side seems to exist. Also, fencing was yet to be put in place in back of the south ramp where a large chunk of seats were removed for that ramp.

On both the north and south side along the track and adjacent to the stands, a short fence was installed but a gap was left that is large enough for balls to roll under the. Galloway also questioned what they had in mind. "As it stands now", said Galloway, "balls will roll right underneath". There was no apparent way to access that area from the field if that were to happen. Galloway said that the city was talking about, "Stringing up a cable" along that area to remedy this problem.

It was also noted that the players' tunnel has been removed. That same tunnel area is accessible from the stands but players no longer have a way onto the field from the dressing rooms without going around the outside edges of the stadium. It was also noted that with the demolition of the north facade of the stadium, the only way to access the players' dressing room is through that same tunnel. The only way to that tunnel is from the long walkway in front of the stands which is fenced in from the track and field. This also means that stadium personnel have no access to the press box without also walking along this long runway in front of the stands.

Galloway inspected the area east of the stadium where they are still doing landscaping and clean up. He said he was optimistic that he can acquire funding and sponsorships for a lit sign for the stadium and school that would be positioned outside the northeast corner of the stadium. He said he is currently seeking bids. The cost is around $24,000.00 and is much like the sort of sign often seen outside many high schools. The sign would be hooked up electronically to the school so they can change the messages from inside Central High School. It would be hoped that the Thunder would also have access to the signage to advertise games in the summer.