Guests at the groundbreaking for a new music room and classrooms at Elizabethton High School were treated to an impromptu tour of the Citizens Bank Stadium Friday.

The idea came to Elizabethton Schools Director Corey Gardenhour the day before.

“We wanted to go ahead and give a public tour,” he said. “We thought it would be a good thing to give the public a little preview since they made time to come out anyway.”

Gardenhour was thrilled to see some band students already having fun on the field.

“They are over here marching and getting a little practice in,” he said. “You can tell they are excited.”

One aspect that really sets the stadium off is the seating, he said. The bright orange seat backs really make the venue pop, he said.

“That’s something we really wanted to do for the fans,” he said. “It’s just on the home side. We wanted to do something special for them.”

Gardenhour is also already dreaming of expanding the facility to accommodate more fans.

“We hope in the future to put in an additional 600 seats,” he said. “We can expand as funds become available.”

As of right now, all of the home side seats are sold out, he said.

“We’re hoping that we will have some people interested in adding more seats,” he said.

While most of the stadium progress is already complete, the press box is one feature that still needs to be installed. It’s scheduled to go in on August 13, he said.

“That’s one thing that is still yet to come,” he said.

Another aspect left to be completed is the bandstand, he said.

“It’s going in behind the donor wall,” he said. “It’s going to give us a lot of flexibility for the band. They can march off the field and go right up there to sit.”

Concrete around the donor wall was in the process of drying. Gardenhour also referred to the donor wall as, “the wall of champions.”

“All the people in Elizabethton who have given money to the city school system in any capacity are going to be recognized on this donor wall,” he said. “On either side, there’s going to be signage for band and athletic state championships.”

Spaces were left in the concrete sidewalk for donor bricks, which can be purchased at $100 each. Information for purchasing a brick is on the school system’s website — ecshools.net.

“Someone could purchase a brick to put in here and it will be there for at least 70 years,” he said. “This is a 70-year facility so they can make a permanent statement by buying a donor brick.”

So far, the bricks have generated about $35,000 in revenue, Gardenhour said.

“The first batch will go in right in front of the donor wall,” he said. “It allows folks to be a part of history.”

Turning his attention to the turf, Gardenhour explained its nuance.

“The people who did our field’s turf are the same people who do fields for professional football teams all over the United States,” he said. “It’s as good as any professional field.”

Gardenhour commended the stadium project’s architect Tom Weems for designing such a gorgeous facility.

“Obviously we could not have gotten to this point on our own,” Gardenhour said. “The stadium looks very professional. He put a lot of his signature touches on the design.”

Gardenhour expects Weems will come through with the same level of expertise on the music room and classrooms as well as for the T.A. Dugger project.

So, what’s Weems’ favorite part of being involved in the stadium project?

“It’s days like today when you get to see the results of your work,” he said. “We’ve been on this job for six years. To get to this point is a big deal.”

In Weems’ line of work, a project like this is called a generational job.

“We are really proud to be a part of this,” he said. “There are not many stadiums built in a town. You normally get one shot in a lifetime to do something like this.”

If he had to choose one part of the design he likes the most, it’s the statues of the Cyclones’ mascot named Tuffy. One brick statue of Tuffy will be placed on either side of the field.

“As the team comes onto the field, they want to have a tradition of touching Tuffy for good luck,” he said. “Those will go into place in about 30 days.”

Even though the design of the stadium changed several times, Weems said everything came together in the end.

“I think everybody who comes in here will be proud,” Weems said. “I hope they are all pleased with how the money was spent.”

GRC Construction Manager Pat Breeding has seen the entire project through to its current state and can’t wait to deliver the final product.

“Everyone who came together on this project just clicked,” Breeding said. “It’s such a reward to be a part of bringing something positive to the community.”

Most of Breeding and Weems’ work will be complete by mid-August, he said.

“All the final touches should be complete by late August,” he said.

That’s just in time for the school’s ‘Meet Your Seat’ event scheduled for Sept. 3. The Cyclones’ stadium will be able blow fans away with their first games scheduled for Sept. 4 and 11.

“Everything is right on schedule,” Weems said.