History
On September 26, 1940, J.W. Powell, Florence Schools superintendent, announced that the WPA had approved a project to build a new football stadium in Florence. The stadium, along with other athletic facilities such as a baseball diamond, would be built on a section of a 25-acre lot [5] owned by the Board of Education between Cherry Street, Jackson Highway, and Royal Avenue. [6]
The project was given a cost of $80,125, a majority of which would come from the WPA. Local architects Ben F. Riley, III and Howard Griffith designed the plans for the stadium and surrounding area. [6] The stadium was designed to seat 5,000 and employ up to 60 people. [7]
It was originally slated to be finished in time for the Coffee High Yellow Jackets to play their 1941 season at the venue. But, despite attempts to speed up construction [7] , the stadium was not ready and would not host its first football game until 1942. [8] The first game saw the Coffee High Yellow Jackets defeat Guin High School 57-0 [9] with second-year head coach, Tom Braly Jr. [10]
Facilities
Seating capacity has increased by 6,200 seats since 1980 (5,000 in 1980 and 1,200 in 1998). The original playing surface featured a sand foundation that enabled the field to withstand six inches (152 mm) of rain at one time without altering the footing; [12] however, that surface was replaced with ProGrass synthetic turf during the summer of 2010.
Other renovations include a $175,000 scoreboard with a message center installed in 1995 and a 1998 renovation that doubled the working press area as well as provided additional restrooms and viewing booths for game administration. The 1995 scoreboard was replaced in 2010 with a $57,000 LED based scoreboard along with a new elevator to the press box and a resealing of the running track around the field. [13]
The new three-level press box consists of a first level that seats up to 50 sportswriters. The second level has areas for coaching staffs from competing schools, the public address announcer, the clock operator, the stadium manager, and also provides space for radio crews from both home and visiting teams. The third floor is used by television and film crews.
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