Habersham Central High School football fans who are willing to shell out a few extra bucks may now enjoy stadium-style seating at home football games.
The school recently replaced the aluminum bench seats in the reserved section at Raider Stadium with 600 new seats. HCHS Athletic Director Geep Cunningham says the change was a long time coming.
“My daddy sat on that cement block there in 1971,” he says describing how little the seating has changed since the stadium was first built nearly fifty years ago. Now, with this approximate $90,000 upgrade, people who reserve seats will get a more comfortable viewing experience.
The project was put out to bid last year before the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent state budget cuts.
“I think it’s great!” Cunningham says. “Number one, it makes the stadium look great. It’s comfortable. It’s just nice. It’s stadium seating and I think people like that. I think it stirs up some excitement.”
The seats are located in the two mid-sections of the home team side of the stands. They’re wider than the previously reserved spaces – 22 inches versus 18 inches. Also, contractors added a center aisle to make them more accessible. Those changes and a few others resulted in the loss of 132 reserved spots. Still, the HCHS Athletic Department stands to make more money off the new seats since the price has increased.
Now instead of $50 for five home games, the reserved seats are selling for $75. That breaks down to $15 per game. The gate ticket price for general seating is $7 per game.
“It just seemed like it was time to go up [on the price],” Cunningham says.
He praises the school board for supporting the project and allocating funds to it and also the community for its continued support of Raider football.
“Some have been buying reserved seats in that stadium for 50 years,” Coach Cunningham says amazed. “The support from our community is unbelievable!”
Last year’s reserved seat holders already have been given an option to keep theirs, now, the remaining seats are open to the public to buy. Only those with reserved seats will be allowed to sit in the new section during home football games, even if not all of the seats are sold.
Members of the public may reserve home football game seats by emailing or calling any of these contacts:
Terri Roberts
[email protected]
Geep Cunningham
[email protected]
Athletic Department
706-776-2952
If the football season is canceled due to COVID-19, those with reserved seats will receive refunds.
