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Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports fields and other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step gaining access to a row of benches. Benches range from simple planks to elaborate ones with backrests. Many bleachers are open to the ground below so that there are only the planks to sit and walk on. Some bleachers have vertical panels beneath the benches, either partially or completely blocking the way to the ground.


Name origins

The open seating area in baseball was called the "bleaching boards" as early as 1877. The term "bleachers" used in the sense of benches for spectators can be traced back to at least 1889; named as such because the generally uncovered wooden boards were "bleached by the sun". ''The Dickson Baseball Dictionary'' lists as a ''secondary'' definition the fans sitting in them. By the early 1900s, the term "bleachers" was being used for both the seating area and its occupants. In modern usage, the term "bleachers" almost always refers only to the seating area, and those sitting there may be called "bleacher fans" or "bleacherites". Terms such as Chicago's "bleacher bums" or Yankee Stadium's
Bleacher Creatures The Bleacher Creatures are a group of fans of the New York Yankees who are known for their strict allegiance to the team and their fierce attitude towards opposing fans and teams. The group's nickname was coined for the first time by '' New Yo ...
are also used.


Types

Bleachers structures vary depending on the location, but most outdoor modern bleachers have either an aluminium tube or steel angle understructure (known as frame-type bleachers) or steel I-beams (known as an I-beam bleacher). Most smaller bleachers are frame-type bleachers and most larger bleachers are I-Beam bleachers. Bleachers range in size from small, modular, aluminum stands that can be moved around soccer or hockey fields to large permanent structures that flank each side of an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
field. Some bleachers have locker rooms underneath them. In indoor gyms, bleachers can be built in so that they slide on a track or on wheels and fold in an
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
-like, stacking manner. These type of bleachers are known as telescoping bleachers.


Baseball

In
ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...
s, the bleachers are usually located beyond the outfield fences. However, center-field bleachers are located in the line of sight of the batter, and the presence of fans makes it difficult for the batter to pick out the ball. As a result, most stadiums have vacant areas or black backgrounds where the seats would be. This is known as either the "backdrop" or the
batter's eye The batter's eye or batter's eye screen is a solid-colored, usually dark area beyond the center field wall of a baseball stadium, that is the visual backdrop directly in the line of sight of a baseball batter, while facing the pitcher and awai ...
. The old Yankee Stadium featured black-painted vacant bleachers, nicknamed "the black" by baseball fans. Many ballparks, especially those in Minor League Baseball, offer only bleacher seating. In those that offer both seats and bleachers—such as in Major League Baseball—the bleachers are typically in less desirable locations and/or have lower ticket prices, giving the term "bleachers" a connotation of lower-class seating.


American football

The popularity of American football has made seating on outdoor and indoor football fields a necessity. Professional football, colleges, high schools, and even middle schools have bleacher systems set up to accommodate their fans. Bleachers vary in size from wide, seating 25, all the way to full stadiums that seat thousands and wrap around the entire field. As one example of their dimensions,
Crystal Lake South High School Crystal Lake South High School, often referred to as "South" or "CLS," is one of three high schools in Crystal Lake, Illinois, and currently has a body of roughly 1916 students. As Crystal Lake's second oldest school, it was constructed from 1976 ...
in Illinois built some football bleachers that were about high. American football bleachers are commonly made from concrete or aluminum with concrete footings or superstructure underneath.


In popular culture

*Bleachers feature in the film Grease, during the song “ Summer Nights” (shot at Venice High School in Venice, California). *Bleachers are mentioned in the song "White Moon" on the album
Get Behind Me Satan ''Get Behind Me Satan'' is the fifth studio album by the American rock duo the White Stripes, released on June 7, 2005, on V2 Records. Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecess ...
by the White Stripes. *Bleachers are also mentioned in the song “ You Belong With Me” on the album
Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...
by
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...
*Bleachers are also mentioned in the song "
Highway 61 Revisited (song) "Highway 61 Revisited" is the title track of Bob Dylan's 1965 album ''Highway 61 Revisited''. It was also released as the B-side to the single "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" later the same year. In 2004, '' Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked ...
" by
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...


See also

*
All-seater An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football a ...
*
Mobile bleacher A mobile bleacher or portable bleacher is a type of bleacher that can be moved to different locations to fulfill a need for temporary or reconfigurable seating. Some units incorporate a built-in hydraulic or electric actuation system for raising a ...
* Grandstand * Terrace (stadium) * The gods (theatrical) *
Nosebleed seats In the United States, Canada and Australia, the nosebleed section are the seats of a public area, usually an athletic stadium or gymnasium, that are highest and, usually, farthest from the desired activity. Also known as the O’Connell section. ...


References

{{Authority control Nonbuilding structures Outdoor structures Sports venues