Old Ticket Booth Structures To Find New Life At New Stadium

The Oskaloosa School Board met in regular session on Tuesday night.

The donation of old community stadium structures absorbed a fair amount of time from the board on Tuesday night.

Oskaloosa School Superintendent Paula Wright explained that she was approached by Mahaska County Recreation Foundation last fall to consider donating the entrance structures currently at the old community stadium to the new stadium.

“I am in favor of historic preservation,” said Wright of the prospect of moving the structures.

According to Wright, the offer is that the fence and cement be replaced at no cost then to the District so that the District would have no cost at all due to the move.

The move was considered more financially viable after the District was presented with the cost of tuck-pointing the current structures. “I didn’t think the school District spending money to tuck-point old structures made sense when somebody would historically preserve those,” said Board Member Carl Drost.

Board Member Amanda McGraw said she preferred that the structures stay at the old stadium because they are part of that stadium’s history. “We have a great stadium, but it’s owned by Penn,” added McGraw. “We have to pay to play there. We don’t have a lot of say there, so I would not support this.”

Wright said that the structures need repair and tuck-pointing and they can present a safety hazard as they currently stand.

The old stadium now mainly hosts middle school events, and community members are often there utilizing the track for walking.

It was also questioned putting money into the old stadium, while the new stadium’s costs continue to increase.

Ultimately, the board agreed with the superintendent’s recommendation to donate those structures in exchange for fencing and other works to make the old stadium secure and usable at no cost to the District.