The Arkansas City Bulldogs start their season Friday at Valley Center. It is going to be a few weeks before the new stadium hosts a game.
It is a bit odd, but the Bulldogs will play Winfield (at Winfield) in the second game of the season on Sept. 10. Gonna be strange not having that game during Arkalalah week.
The first varsity game at the new stadium will be Sept. 17 when the Bulldogs host Goddard.
I have found a couple of good links for following the Bulldogs. Catch it Kansas has a good preview of the upcoming season, and scores and stats will be updated there regularly. Here is the link.
The other place is Hovpen Sports, which is a really good high school sports website
So there is time for the loose ends to be tied up at the new stadium. I noticed there is no press box, but that is probably one of the loose ends that will be fixed.
Now, before the naysayers get rolling, there are just five varsity games scheduled at the new stadium, but there will be a lot more than that going on there. There is JV football, and whatever other football teams the Bulldogs have.
Soccer will likely be played there as well. Then there will be track and field. Im sure the field will get a lot more use than just five games.
Im not sure what the policy will be on allowing other public events .. outdoor concerts or whatever, but hopefully there will be some of that.
A few commented about the cost and such when I posted the snake dance photos.
Yea it cost a lot. But how long has it been since they got a new stadium. Ive no idea the history of Curry Field, but it has been many years.
There were major parking problems at Curry Field, not so at the new stadium. Plenty of parking available, modern restrooms.
I think it is good for the town to have a new stadium. It can be a point of civic pride. There are some good things happening in Ark City whether the naysayers admit it or not. And during a recession or depression IS a good time to build because costs go down. It is tax money well spent.
I have visited many high school football stadiums in my years of covering high school sports for newspapers.
Often that has been what shaped my opinion of a town and was the only real information I had about the town. People who come to games from out of town do that as well. Issues like parking matter. Also just the general aesthetics and intuitive nature of the facility matters. Is the stadium easy to find? You may not find it just by driving into Ark City, but at least having it at the high school is more user friendly from that viewpoint. Is it obvious where to park once you find it, or is it obvious where to go to enter once you find it?
Just how a stadium feels is important too. A new stadium has a nice feel.
It also has a tremendous impact on the athletes. Would not surprise me to see more kids come out for football and for the team to improve a bit just because of their surroundings.
Having said that. I have always enjoyed Southwestern College's football stadium in Winfield. It violates everything I just wrote, but it just has that really nice feel to it that makes up for it being hard to find and not having real good parking. The Aesthetics and design are great. I also like the stadium at Wellington for the same reasons. I dont dislike Curry Field but it is time to move on.
I don't dislike Curry field either...I plain hate it. Ugly, no seating, no parking. & don't even go there if you gotta potty. :( Now I can attend High School football again.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine attendance will be way up.
ReplyDeleteAttendance way up?
ReplyDeleteI do think that the community out to go out and enjoy the new stadium. As far as some mystical impact, I think the problem with the program is a bit more complex.
Consider that ACHS basketball has essentially atrophied in the new conveniently found at the HS building gymnasium every since it was built.
Unlike professional sports or even Division college sports where tons of media revenue supplement building costs, HS sports facilities are funded by the tax payers.
Hence, the district either hires the type of magnetic peronality that builds pride in the program or they don't. Teams/programs with winning tradition build pride in whatever their digs might be.
If it's a quirky old stadium where on ly the home team knows the bad spots on the field that, then, becomes part of home field advantage and a part of the intimidation factor. Our program will get better if someone can get our kids motivated to do what the kids in better programs do.
More important than a new stadium is getting coaches who will swallow their pride and go to districts where they traditionally send teams to the state finals adn learn from them how they motivate kids nad mold them for success.
Doesn't take $5mm to do that. It took $5mm to bait the trap for citizens to pay for the other $30mm in building improvements - new buildings just in time to lay off teachers (not administrators mind you, just teachers).
Closing as I began, everyone able to attend ought to at least cram that stadium for the first ever home game in our $5mm stadium. The school district, the kids and the citizens deserve that much.
After that, wins get crowds. Want a packed house? Listen to Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders. Just win baby!
Sure it is more complicated than just a new facility. I was just saying that it would help in some areas, not fix things. So maybe they get another 100 people and go 6-4 instead of 4-6. At least its a start.
ReplyDeleteAt some high schools, the football program does pay for itself and most other sports.
I covered a large high school in south carolina that had good football and great basketball .. their sports program actually ran a profit and the money went to the general fund.
A bad rainy night on a friday was a real problem financially to them.
Well you do have to consider that its a long term investment in the Community!
ReplyDeleteI don't know the life expectancy of the new turf or many of the fields fixtures. But, its not a project that will be used by only one or two generations.
It's also a drawing card for future expansion of the area/community - should someone(s) ever come along who can figure that out!
James Jordan, don't you talk like that. I need you to be on board and speak the speak. EVERYONE in the community ought to come out for the first home game if they are physically able.
ReplyDeleteWhy build first class and then promote half hearted. A $5mm stadium deserves a $5mm audience. We could have gotten 100 more people by spending half million to move the lighting and upgrade the seating at Curry.
Just like that committee said a makeover for Curry wasn;t good enough, neither is a modest increase in attendance good enough.
Get on board and stop speaking mediocrity!
I grew up in this town, and like alot of people spent many Friday nights down at Curry Field. It was truly bittersweet to attend the last game and band concert during Arkalalah. However, I think the new stadium is wonderful, and that the whole town should support it! It's an exciting addition to our small town, and without change their can't be growth and new experiences. I just hope that when my boys are in highschool, they have just as many great times at the new stadium that I did at Curry.
ReplyDelete