Historic and storied Walton Blesch Field was built in 1920. Thousands of Maroon football players and fans have contributed to the incredible legacy and tradition of Walton Blesch Stadium and Field. Unfortunately, the viable lifespan of the bleachers is approximately 100 years. Deterioration, cracks, and crumbling over the years have proved to be beyond repair, rendering the bleachers unsafe for use. That’s when a group of community members, coaches, and business leaders developed the Walton Blesch Stadium Legacy Foundation took on the challenge replace the existing bleachers with aluminum bleachers and to replace the press box. Dave Mathieu Vice President of the Walton Blesch Legacy Foundation says, “it’s with incredible amount of satisfaction and appreciation that the entire team, including the donors, Menominee Area Public Schools, and Board Members that I can proudly say ‘We Did It’ we got over the finish line. Symbolically, we want to hand the keys over because, effectively, we’re done.
Mathieu says, “the estimated project costs were between $700,000 to $750,000. However, thanks to two unexpected contributions of equipment and labor of Mike Biehl of MJB and Jordan and Joe Barley of Barley Excavating. The actual financial donations required were significantly reduced.”
The Legacy Foundation still has some maintenance items to do. From chip sealing to a donor wall. Right now, they are seeking a scoreboard sponsor for the new scoreboard that was put in. To learn more about the Walton Blesch Legacy Foundation and how to donate or sponsor visit bleschstadium.org
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