ROCHELLE — Helms Field will have quite a different look when local fans arrive to watch Rochelle Junior Tackle football this season.
With games starting in less than two weeks, construction to tear down and replace both the home and visitor bleachers at the park is nearly complete.
Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District Executive Director Roger Bunger said that work on the bleachers is “90 percent done,” and Bunger said the new bleachers will be ready when the Junior Hubs take the field for their first home game on Saturday, Aug. 12.
“There are a couple rails that still need to be put on and secured,” Bunger said. “We’re going to be cleaning up the area, and there’s a little crack around the new concrete under the bleachers that will be filled in.”

Construction on the bleachers began roughly three months ago, with workers tearing down the home and visitor bleachers as well as the press box above the home bleachers. Bunger said the entire project, which includes fresh paint on the locker room building behind the home bleachers and additional landscaping and cleaning work, will cost roughly $60,000, with Rochelle Junior Tackle covering around $20,000 of the total.
“The bleachers look nice,” Rochelle Junior Tackle President Derek Johnson said. “I know some people may be disappointed in the size, but most people are used to seeing high school level stands… It was a safety issue, and they were coming down regardless… There will be shock initially, but I think the changes will be good.”
The new home bleachers will sit approximately 184 people, nearly 10 percent of the seating capacity of the old bleachers, which Bunger said held close to 2,000 spectators. Three sets of four-row bleachers have been placed along the visitor sideline, with all three sets combining to seat between 30 and 40 percent of the old visitor bleachers, which Bunger said held close to 200 people.
While some spectators may be underwhelmed by the decrease in seating options, both Bunger and Johnson believe fans will adjust as the 2017 season progresses. Unlike previous years, Johnson said patrons will be allowed to place chairs and other seating devices on the track surrounding the football field, with a small section in front of the home bleachers being roped off for the Rochelle Junior Tackle cheerleaders.
“The capacity is not what we’ve had before, and we’ve seen crowds upwards of 300-plus,” Johnson said. “We’re going to open up seating along the track… That way fans will still be close to the field even if they’re unable to sit in the bleachers. It’ll be like any other stadium they go to in our conference.”
The bleacher project is just one of the changes coming to Helms Field. Johnson said that both Rochelle Junior Tackle and the Flagg-Rochelle Community Park District are aiming to come together after the season to discuss plans for a new press box. Johnson said a scissor lift for press personnel will be placed near the home bleachers until a new press box is constructed.
A new roof for the locker room building is also in the works, and picnic tables may be added to the mulched areas on each side of the home bleachers. Overall, both Johnson and Bunger are pleased with the park’s new look, and the two men are optimistic that fans will appreciate the changes as well.
“Junior Tackle came to us because they felt that the old bleachers were becoming unsafe,” Bunger added. “If you were a kid, there was nothing keeping you from slipping under the bleachers and dropping 20 feet… Very few fans ever sat in them, and they were basically withering away… I think the changes will be positive, and we’ve had a lot of positive comments from neighbors.”