Stadium Project in Easton Prompts Budget Concerns

EASTON, Pa. (WLVT) - Football is back in the Lehigh Valley, and for fans in Easton, memories are made at Cottingham Stadium.

The home of the Red Rovers was built in the 1920’s -- and it's slowly crumbling.

Because the stands are almost 100 years old, they’re not ADA accessible, and there are no railings to help fans go up and down the steep steps.

"I don't dare go into the bathrooms," said school board member Tina Rosado. " I don't know about anyone else that goes to the stadium. I hold it."

"What is there has eroded through decades of use, and, in some cases, lack of care," said interim superintendent Frank D’Angelo.

Last year, the school board voted to tear down Cottingham and build a new stadium. The price tag at the time was $13.3 million.

The project design, made by Alloy5 Architecture, featured a modern vision with odes to Easton's football history. However, after the bids for the project were received, the total cost was closer to $20 million.

At Tuesday night's school board meeting, D'Angelo announced the administration was hitting the brakes on the project after several concerns about the money.

"We don't want kids getting hurt, but above and beyond that, I don't see robbing people of their grocery money or risking homelessness or people who have [for] generations lived here all of a sudden not being able to afford the taxes for the fanciest football stadium ever," said Easton resident Carinne Buzzuto.

"Yes, there was a lot of work put into it, but let's take a breath," added Easton resident Paul Petrignani. "Let's re-evaluate the situation. Maybe, take a look at the scope that was developed for this."

"You can see that that thing is over-designed," said Palmer Township resident Chuck Diefenderfer. "It's more of an architectural feature than it is a football stadium."

District officials said there was significant discussion and collaboration up to this point. D'Angelo said even though the project won't move forward right now, it's still an urgent matter.

"It's obvious that something needs to be done, and it is our task now -- one that we will take quite seriously -- to move forward in an efficient manner so that that can occur," he said.

"[We're] hopefully trying to keep some of the components that were...part of the original design, and then being able to ensure that, within the new design, we're able to see the things that are still needed to present a quality facility," added school board president George Chando.

The project's engineers say they value the community's feedback and understand concerns about the budget.

"The original scope did have quite a bit of some Easton tradition, flair that unfortunately might have to be reduced or scaled back," said Josh Grice, principal at D'Huy Engineering. "Certainly, there are options to make a stadium that is functional, obviously safe [and] sustainable."

By the time the school board gets a revised plan, a new superintendent may be in charge. Tuesday, the board voted unanimously to name David Piperato superintendent of schools.

He started his career 29 years ago as a teacher in the Nazareth Area School District and is currently superintendent at Pleasant Valley School District in Monroe County. He starts in December with a starting salary of $180,000.

As for now, D'Angelo said the school board doesn't have a timeline for when it will re-bid the stadium project.