Rental Bleacher Safety Information:
Renting bleachers for an event is a big responsibility. Every person who comes to your event is trusting you to provide them with quality seating that is not just comfortable but safe for them and their family. RBI has recently quoted a few projects where the competition has quoted the use of bleachers that do not have STANDARD safety features such as safety fence around the back and sides of the units. Most of our clients are experts in their field but not necessarily experts in the bleacher business so we have listed some items below to look for when comparing quotes between companies and the types of bleachers they are providing.
3 row bleachers do not usually come with safety fence due to the height however they do not offer much in the way of viewing or seating capacity for anything other than a very small event.
4 row bleachers can be made with our without safety fence depending on the “rise/run” per row. If the unit has a “low rise” which means the first seat is only 12” above grade and each seat only rises 6” per row then the use of safety fence is not required. HOWEVER these bleachers are very uncomfortable to sit on and are usually used for small children. Try sitting on something that is only 12” off the ground and see if you like it? If the 4 row has a standard 8”/24” design then the first seat would be 17” off the ground and that means the bleacher is required to have back and side safety fence anywhere above 30”. If the bleacher you are getting do not meet these simple requirements then you may want to consider finding another option.
5 row & 10 row bleachers all require safety fence and depending on the size of the bleacher can require additional items as well such as gap closures, aisle extensions, and mid-aisle handrails.
All bleacher companies use similar concepts but the materials of the bleachers can vary. For instance some companies use steel frames with wood planking and some use aluminum frames with aluminum planking. This does not determine the quality of the bleachers but aluminum tends to be a longer lasting product than wood.
Always ask for images of the bleachers that are being quoted to make sure they are to the standard you and your event guests deserve.