Kingsburg High School students standing on the outside of the fence looking in at the new multi-purpose stadium will see a track being striped today. But no bleachers.

Football players and fans counting on taking part in the first two home games on Sept. 12 and 19 won’t have anywhere to sit, according to Kingsburg Joint Union High School District Superintendent Linda Clark.

Clark said the delays in the project have been caused by the bleachers, beginning with the eight-month gap in the school board’s approval of the contract with Southern Bleachers on Sept. 13 and the Department of State Architect’s (DSA) May 29 approval. The school board had no choice but to wait for the go-ahead from DSA, which had them playing catch-up.

"The issues that we encountered in getting the bleacher plans back from DSA in a timely fashion have been at the root of our problems to meet the September deadline," Clark said.

The delays blindsided the school district, as late Friday Clark learned that the Southern Bleachers Company was unable to complete shop fabrication on time and delivery was delayed from Aug. 11 to at least Aug. 18. As a result, the new date for opening the stadium is the third home game on Oct. 17.

"Last week I would have assured you that we were on time and we were confident we would be playing football at home on (Sept. 12)," Clark said pointing to the signs that had made her optimistic, such as Durham Construction and their architect, Integrated Designs being on schedule. "This is a tremendous setback for meeting our Sept. 12 deadline. In fact it makes it impossible to be able to provide seating for our fans for that game (or the next)."

With the eagerness of ensuring that the Oct. 17 date happens without a doubt, on Monday morning Southern Bleacher Company’s subcontractor, Genoa Construction of Fresno, addressed the district’s concerns.

"They are eager to work with us," Clark said, adding that Genoa Construction promised an effort to get two teams of employees, one working during the day and the other working a night shift, to get the bleachers set up quickly.

But even though the setbacks are a challenge, Clark looked on the bright side.

"We are disappointed that we will not be able to open the stadium due to the bleacher delay," Clark said. “But we are proud of the efforts made by all involved in the construction process to date.”

Classes begin at Kingsburg High School on Monday with Kingsburg Elementary School classes starting on Wednesday, Aug. 20.