When the Madison High football team kicks off its 2024 season, it will mark the first time the Patriots have played at O.E. Roberts Stadium in Marshall since 2022, and the home stadium will boast some new amenities.
The stadium renovations include:
- Replacement of the home and visitor grandstands.
- Restrooms added to the press box, as well as electrical upgrades, enhanced drainage along the upper concourse of the stadium with new walking surfaces, and ADA accessibility with unobstructed views of the playing field.
- A new track.
Scott Donald, a senior project manager with LS3P, first presented the schematic plans to the Madison County Board of Education at its June 2022 meeting at Central Office.
Mars Hill University's Meares Stadium hosted the Patriots football team for its 2022 and 2023 seasons. [Asheville Citizen Times]
It's a problem many New England cities can relate to - dwindling commercial revenues eroding the tax base as working from home empties out downtowns and inflation boosts business costs and prompts consumers to curb their spending. Longtime Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria says a proposed soccer stadium is a key part of the solution.
With the Encore casino as a lynchpin, DeMaria said in an interview with WBZ-TV that he is urging the Legislature to press for the approvals he needs to advance plans for a 25,000-seat soccer stadium. The venue is proposed by the Kraft Group to house the New England Revolution and host concerts and community events.
The plan has been stalled on Beacon Hill for several years. [CBS News]
The start of ECU's current ambitious project has many wondering what's next for the Pirates' athletic department.
At the groundbreaking ceremony of ECU's Southside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium expansion, director of athletics Jeff Compher indicated the Pirates can't rest on their laurels now, and must continue to advance in facilities and fundraising.
ECU has raised $30 million, including $15 million philanthropically, for the Southside project that's expected to cost around $60 million total. The upgrades include a brand new press box, premium seating for 1,000 Pirate fans in loge boxes and luxury suites, player amenity upgrades inside the Ward Sports Medicine Building, and a hitting facility for baseball, among other items. So while ECU continues to raise money for the current expansion, which is set to be completed by the fall of 2019, it will also be planning for what it will try to tackle next. [247Sports]
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