ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 State Sen. Nick Miller presented the Allentown School District with a $500,000 state grant Friday to start a multi-phase expansion of J. Birney Crum Stadium, money he first announced in July.<\/p>\n
Miller, a Democrat from the 14th District, handed over the check at the William Allen High School football game against Emmaus, his office said. He was joined by Superintendent Carol Birks and state Reps. Peter Schweyer, Mike Schlossberg and Ana Tiburcio.<\/p>\n
The grant is a start, not the full cost. Robert Whartenby, the district\u2019s chief operations officer, told the school board Aug. 27<\/a> that the $500,000 will help pay for updates to the stadium\u2019s field house and that the district is also working on a larger master plan for the property. Miller\u2019s office has not said what the full project will cost or when work will start.<\/p>\n Miller\u2019s office describes a broader project: a field house, new restrooms and concessions, two scoreboards, site work and demolition of existing buildings.<\/p>\n The two scoreboards drew questions from commenters on Miller\u2019s video. A June 2025 district board memo describes \u201cthe new video scoreboard at J. Birney Crum Stadium.\u201d Miller replied that the grant is \u201cdefinitely not replacing the new scoreboard\u201d and that the district is \u201cworking on the game plan\/timing\u201d for the money. His office has not said which scoreboards the grant covers.<\/p>\n Miller also said he would pass commenters\u2019 concerns about the stadium\u2019s steps and bleachers to the district.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tRest of story locked298 more words \u00b7 1 min \t\tStory continues \u00b7 1 min left<\/p>\n Read the rest of this story \u2014 freeWelcome back.That email didn\u2019t go through.<\/p>\n Reader emails keep local news free, with no paywall. You\u2019ll get our newsletter with the Valley\u2019s top stories Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, and that\u2019s all we use it for. Do it once and every story stays open.You left the newsletter, so stories past here need your email again. Rejoin and every story opens.We couldn\u2019t deliver to the address you gave. Use another one and every story opens.<\/p>\n Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy<\/a><\/p>\n The district has put numbers on stadium work before. At a board committee meeting<\/a> last October, its presentation listed a $7.5 million field house, with locker rooms, public restrooms and a weight room, plus $1.5 million to replace the turf and track. Whartenby put the stadium work at almost $10 million and 35 months, then said: \u201cThese aren\u2019t projects yet. These are ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n The grant comes from the state\u2019s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, which Miller announced July 16 as part of more than $5.7 million in awards for Lehigh Valley projects. A district board memo<\/a> says the state authorized the award July 17, that it passes through Lehigh County and that it reimburses the district for eligible project costs.<\/p>\n The presentation came the day after William Allen received its third bomb threat in three days. Allentown police said officers cleared the school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and found no threat each time. A 16-year-old was charged over Tuesday\u2019s, and a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old face charges over Wednesday\u2019s, each with felony terroristic threats.<\/p>\n Police news releases show 10 bomb threats at district schools since Sept. 1, 2025: eight at William Allen and two at Trexler Middle School. Four came this school year, all at William Allen. None turned up a bomb.<\/p>\n Last October, as the school board took up a new terroristic-threats policy, a board member said William Allen\u2019s 3,000 students had to go \u201cdown to the stadium\u201d three times during that fall\u2019s threats.<\/p>\n
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