Bleachers have been used at events for thousands of years — and to most people, they haven’t changed much. They’re still tiered rows of seating that let attendees watch the show. A bleacher is a bleacher, right?
That’s what we thought too, until we were forced to look much closer.
We organize an annual rodeo on our farm that attracts roughly 5,000 people. Our first year, we rented older wooden bleachers — no stairs, no safety railings, just 5 rows of single-board wooden planks. After the event, our feedback survey told a clear story. The number one complaint? The bleachers.
Our top 10 complaints included:
Bleacher safety standards across North America were developed between 1999 and 2006 in response to a growing number of injuries and deaths at events. The International Building Code (IBC) adopted bleacher standards in 1997 (revised in 2000). The Ontario Building Code followed, updated in 2006, aligning with the same IBC guidelines.
Finding this out raised a lot of questions for us — and they’re probably questions you have too.
I’ll answer these questions for you, to the best of my knowledge, even though I am still searching for better answers…
Fire safety codes may override building codes for indoor events in some areas.
When running our first rodeo, we applied for a special event permit, like all other events are required to. The event permit asked us if bleachers will be used at our event, among other questions, and we answered that yes they are.
They then required a building permit for the bleachers and structural drawings, etc. (as they should). We explained that we are renting “mobile” bleachers and we don’t have any structural drawings for them. They said they would allow the bleachers, as long as they remained outside of liquor permitted areas. I’m not actually sure how/ why we got away with this, but we did.
I’m guessing that most events who rent poor quality bleachers just slid under the radar (like we did the first year), until the events reach a certain number of attendees. In our area when the event hits 5000+ people a day, then additional rules are applied, to protect the safety of the public.
This is a tough question and one that I’m still searching for an answer on. My thoughts are that if I’m building a house I have to follow the building code to meet a set of standards or it will not be approved. So why would event organizers not have to follow the code for bleachers?
I’ve found that there is a loophole in most event applications around North America, that allow the use of mobile or portable bleachers that don’t meet the code to be permitted to be used at public events. Why does this loophole exist?
We at Bleacher Rentals believe that the code was created for our safety and the safety of the public. Even if building permits are not required, we believe that the bleacher must still follow the building code for the safety of the public.
Where we are now:
Most rural events are not required to follow the building codes and safety standards!.
Why?
Where we want to be:
Have all public events follow the same building code and safety standards.
How can this happen?
From researching and looking to rent bleachers for our own event, we found it very difficult to find bleachers that did meet the building codes. To put this in perspective, I’ll share some quotes we received to rent 1500 seats at our rodeo in 2016 …
Here are the quotes:
At the time, these were our only three options…. Which would you choose? We chose the first option since we were trying to keep costs as low as possible for our first year. But, after watching them being used and getting feedback, we knew there needed to be a better option. After a lot of research, we began our own company to fill the gap in the market…. The birth of Bleacher Rentals!
If you organize a rural event, you already know that fully code-compliant bleachers can feel out of reach financially. But the answer isn’t to ignore the code — it’s to find a supplier who makes compliance affordable.
Whether you’re reviewing your own bleachers or evaluating rental options, always verify that your seating meets building code. Look for safe stairs and walkways, proper guardrails, enclosed footboards, and no gaps larger than 4 inches. This protects your guests — and protects you from liability.
👉 Download our free Bleacher Safety Checklist to review your bleachers against the IBC standard.
This post is the foundation of our complete bleacher safety series. Dive deeper into each topic.
Want it all in one place?
We’re putting together a Complete Guide to Bleacher Safety — a free downloadable PDF for event organizers.
Sign up to be notified when it’s ready.
* Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands, 2012 ICC 300 – https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/ICC3002012
** Ontario Building Code, O Reg 332/12 under Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c.23 – https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/120332
Krista is the co-founder of Bleacher Rentals and co-organizer of the Norfolk Pro Rodeo. She loves to share her knowledge on event planning, temporary seating solutions, and bleacher safety gained from years of experience supporting rodeos, fairs, festivals, and sporting events.