The type of venue and your budget will be the biggest determining factors in deciding which type of bleachers are best for your purposes. We will give you a description of the most common types of bleachers and their applications to help with the deciding process of choosing bleachers

Bleacher Types

Frame-Type Bleachers

Description:

This is the most typical seating type of all bleacher options. When you think of bleachers, an image of this type should be the first one that comes to mind for the average person.This seating option usually has an aluminum or galvanized steel understructure. They are easily scalable in both height and width to accommodate for an increase in seat count. The row count tends to come in multiples of 5, that is 5 rows,10 row, 15 rows, etc.. There are two version of frame-type bleachers available. One is “non-elevated” and the other is “elevated.” Non-elevated is when the first row starts at ground level. Elevated is when there is a walkway at the front of the bleachers. Elevated allows there to be a ramp for wheelchair accessibility.

Application:

The typical application for frame-type bleachers are for outdoor fields and arenas, like little league baseball fields, high school soccer and football fields, or track and field arenas to name a few. This is going to be your most affordable seating option

I-Beam Bleachers

Description:

This is a “premium” seating option. It is the next step up from frame-type bleachers. They are typically made from aluminum or galvanized steel as well.

Application:

I-beam bleachers are to accommodate for larger crowds, anywhere from 500 to 50,000 seats. This type would be for outdoor venues like a high school football team with a large following, demolition derby tracks, or horse racing where you would like to have pressbox. This option is going to be more pricey, but it will be worth it given that more people will now be able to comfortably spectate.

Telescopic Bleachers

Description:

Telescopic bleachers are bleachers that retract so that they become flush with a vertical wall. When you retract telescopic bleachers, the first row will slide underneath the second row, and then the first two rows will slide underneath the third row and so on.

Application

Telescopic bleachers are preferable for indoor arenas that are multi-functional, like gymnasiums, conventions centers, or performing arts auditoriums. They come in many different sizes to accommodate for a variety of audience sizes. When a basketball game isn’t taking place, these bleachers can be collapsed to maximize floor space for other activities. This seating option is not the cheapest, but it comes with many benefits that will pay off in the long run.

These are the most basic bleacher options. Each bleacher company will have their own versions of each of these types, so make sure to consider many companies when deciding the best seating option for your venue. We hope your bleacher search is a bit easier now after having a basic breakdown of the options available.