Bleacher Seating
Bleacher Seating is an American phrase. For Americans it refers to the raked, bench seating found at baseball and football fields up and down the US where many have wiled away an afternoon watching or playing one of these most iconic of American sports.
For us Brits, it’s a less familiar term but not an unfamiliar concept. In truth the idea of tiered seating dates back to the Greek amphitheatres and Roman coliseums where it was the best method of enabling large numbers of people to see the events that were taking place below. That method has stayed with us into the modern age, where theatre remains as a source of entertainment, but where gladiatorial contest has been superseded by more sanguine forms of sporting contest.
The reason that tiered seating has remained is that it is highly efficient. The system allows a huge number of people to be accommodated in a relatively small area and at very low cost. This is why it remains popular with such a huge variety of venues from sports grounds to school halls to theatres.
Bleacher seating has evolved a lot over the centuries. In the ancient world, systems like this were usually made out of stone, this being one of the reasons they remain literally with us to this day. The problem with stone is that it’s expensive and not very portable (by “not very portable” I mean completely immovable). Then it was made of wood. Wood is great because its very light and very strong, a clear advance over stone but unfortunately still rather uncomfortable to sit on.
Today’s bleacher seating tends to be made out of aluminium or plastic and although straightforward bench systems remain popular, modern systems often include seat backs. These compliment nicely seats that fold up when not in use, so once people start moving there are few obstructions in their way. The seats themselves are now shaped to better accommodate the human posterior, adding even greater comfort.
Bleacher seating is also often moveable nowadays so that it can be positioned wherever an event is taking place, making it even more flexible than ever before. It also worth noting that plastic and aluminium materials help make the seats water proof so bleacher systems are as flexible to the demands of weather as they are to location.
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