Mold Eradication Begins At Bristol, Va., Stadium

BRISTOL, Va. – Clad in protective suits and masks, city workers have been removing traces of mold from the walls and ceilings inside part of the city’s football stadium.

The former offices of the parks and recreation department and a concession stand were abandoned because of the proliferation of mold growth at Gene Malcolm Stadium.

Cleanup began last week but was temporarily halted to check for asbestos in the affected areas, City Manager Bill Dennison said.

“We got [environmental firm] S&ME back in there,” Dennison said. “The only asbestos found was in about 1,800 square feet of floor tile ...”

Earlier this year, problems with water runoff caused mold to form on ceiling tiles, floors and walls inside the former office spaces, restrooms and a concession stand beneath the stadium’s concrete bleachers.

Tests revealed a variety of molds, including potentially toxic black mold. Parks and recreation employees were moved to temporary offices in City Hall.

Once remediation work is completed, plans call for opening up portions of the affected areas rather than reclaiming them and performing other structural repairs, Dennison said.

The city plans to contract a licensed firm to remove the asbestos tile and a construction firm to perform some of the work, Dennison said.

“We met with a contractor and the engineer and talked with S&ME about our plans for remediation, demolition and cleanup,” Dennison said. “Our plan was acceptable.”

The stadium work won’t involve a total makeover of the existing restrooms, which are located between the offices and concession stand, Dennison said.

“We are not going to have to gut the restrooms because there is no black mold there nor the concession stand. But we still have to deal with the concession stand,” Dennison said.

Plans now call for building a separate roof structure to divert water from the concession stand and improved ventilation.

City officials hope work is completed before Virginia High’s first home football game in late August, said Kevin Dye, the director of parks and recreation.

The revised plan, which also includes buying a home near Sugar Hollow Park to house the parks and recreation staff, is expected to be cheaper than the alternative, Dennison said.

Buying the property, moving the offices and opening the area to sunlight to prevent future mold growth is expected to cost about $350,000 – “possibly less,” Dennison said. “The cost for a full-blown
remediation and retrofitting those offices to use would run between $500,000 and $600,000.”

Some unspent money was in the Parks and Recreation Department’s 2007-08 budget and will be used to purchase some building materials for the work, Dennison said.

Next week, the City Council will be asked to approve a $204,500 appropriation from the solid waste capital improvement fund to purchase the property adjacent to the park.

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