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SR to play opener in new stadium

BEAVER TWP. –The South Range varsity football team will be playing its season opener at its new stadium Saturday night.

The new stadium at the Rominger Sports Complex at the South Range K-12 campus is coming together in time for the game, schools Superintendent Dennis Dunham reported to the school board Monday night. The second phase of the stadium project is nearly complete after the DeChellis and Stonestreet DDS Press Box was erected earlier this week, lighting hooked up a couple weeks ago and walks for handicap accessibility set to be paved today or tomorrow, he said.

The varsity football team opens the season hosting Springfield Local at 7 p.m. Saturday. The soccer team has already held a game at the facility.

Dunham described the press box, which was placed on Monday, as the “hub” of phase II. He said it has the controls for data, electricity, public address system, the video and digital scoreboard and the sound system. Currently the stadium is being powered by a generator on site, but Ohio Edison is supposed to be installing a permanent power transformer at the facility soon, he added.

The remainder of the second phase, the Mark and Linda Witmer Family Band Shell on the south end of the field, is expected to be completed by the end of September.

The South Range Athletic Boosters in November secured a $1 million loan to install seating, lights, scoreboard and home locker room at the stadium across state Route 46 from the K-12 campus. The project is being funded by the boosters through private donations and an endowment from the Rominger Estate. Upon completion the stadium will be donated to the school district.

The remaining phases in the project will include restrooms and concessions; and an entrance plaza and visitor’s locker room. There will also be a replica of the hillside at Memorial Stadium to maintain some tradition.

The capital fundraising campaign for the project remains ongoing.

“Not very many places can you find the support we’ve had in the last year and half, two years,whether it’s in-kind work or people taking money out of their pocket and putting it towards the athletics or music boosters,” Dunham said. “It’s quite a place and we should be proud of what we have here.”

Also at the meeting, the board approved scoreboard advertising agreements for space on the scoreboard at the stadium with Farmer’s National Bank for 10 years, Less Contracting Inc. for six years and Knightline Embroidery for 10 years. With the contracts, each advertising space on the scoreboard is now filled.

The board also approved the payment of $11,984 to Dell to repair technology components damaged by external power outages. The school district insurance will reimburse the district for the purchase minus the deductible. Dunham noted the district is not at fault for the damage.

khowell@salemnews.net

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