Bleacher
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Disambiguation: for other uses, please see bleach
Bleachers is a term used to describe the raised, tiered stands found by sports fields or at other spectator events in the United States and Canada. Bleachers are long rows of benches, often consisting of alternating steps and seats. They range in size from small, modular, aluminum stands that can be moved around soccer or field hockey fields to large permanent structures that flank either side of a football field. Bleachers are hollow underneath, aside from their support structures. Some bleachers have locker rooms underneath them. In indoor gymnasia, bleachers can be built in so that they slide on a track or on wheels and fold in an accordion-like, stacking manner. The seats of these bleachers are often made of wood. Stands is another term for bleachers.
In baseball stadiums, 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. Yankee Stadium has featured black-painted vacant bleachers -- nicknamed the black by baseball fans -- since it reopened in 1976 after a two-year renovation. In the original Stadium, the center-field section of the bleachers was originally occupied, though from the 1950s they were obscured with a portable screen. Bleachers can be used for all sports known.
The term "under the bleachers" is imbued with cultural meaning from the post-war era of American high school football stars and cheerleaders. In the sexually conservative society of post-war America, some students would find places like the bleachers at the football field, or a secluded car park, to interact socially and sexually with their peers. The "bleachers" have been given cultural connotations of the innocence of high school, youth, and this period of American history, as well as the defiance, excitement, and intrigue of stolen kisses and forbidden love. The British equivalent is "behind the bike sheds".
