High School Stadium Blog

Georgiana High School, Georgiana, AL

2011-10-04T23:59:00.000-04:00

Sign to Georgiana High School

Georgiana High School was a school I barely happened to stop by. I was on my way to Mobile, and told my buddy that I was finally finished looking at schools. However, to get back to the interstate I had to take this shortcut road that led me right past the stadium. I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
Georgiana is a Single-A school in the Alabama High School Athletic Association w/ a daily average enrollment of 110. I've seen where Georgiana is a 7th-12th grade school with an enrollment of around 250 but there is not much information out there about this high school. However, Georgiana, AL is the home of Hank Williams.

Home stands

This is one of the neater set of home stands that I've seen on my trips. I love the layout, that they stretch the whole length of the field. It's a very old field and its evident by the buildings and press box in the background. But to me that's what gives it character and one of the reasons I enjoy traveling around finding jewels like this.

Visitors stands

These are the visitor stands and again a very old structure, complete with the rickety press box which gives it even more character. There's a huge grass lot right behind these bleachers, I'm sure this is one of the easiest drive in, watch the game and drive out times that visiting fans ever have. (I know that sentence doesn't make much sense grammatically, but you get the point). It's obvious from the pictures that the team was practicing. In the photo of the home stands you can see two ladies sitting up on the bleachers. I had a conversation with them about the team, and they were happy to have someone come out and take pictures of their boys. I'm not sure If they quite understood what I was doing there, but I enjoy talking to people I meet along my journey.

End zone shot of the stadium

Scoreboard

Home stands press box

New concessions facitlity

I was thrilled when I passed by the sign to Georgiana High School, and it was even neater when I found out Hank Williams Sr. had lived there. I couldn't find out if he went to high school here, but I did read that he got into a fight with his physical education coach, and after the board did not suspend the coach he and his family moved to Montgomery, AL. The football team may not be that great, but they do play in one sweet, old school stadium.

2011-09-05T00:56:00.003-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. I left my camera with all my pictures on it in Charleston, and will be getting it back soon. For some reason I never fully transferred them over to my laptop.

Westside High School, Anderson, SC

2011-08-18T23:43:00.001-04:00


Westside High School Rams

Westside High School is the crosstown rival of TL Hanna High School. They play at Westside Stadium (formally known as District 5 Stadium). Although their success on the football field hasn't been great recently, they play in one of my favorite stadiums. TL Hanna and Westside start and finish their seasons with each other. The first game does not count in the region standings but the last game of the year does. Westside is in the 4-A classification of the SCHSL.

Home stands

The home stands are concrete with metal bleachers on top, which is probably the best look, in my eyes, for a high school stadium. It adds more character and its more sturdy. The stadium is built into a hill and you walk down into the seats which is also pretty cool because you're able to see the game while walking to your seats. On the bottom level of the press box there are restrooms and a concessions area. This picture was taken from the walkway at the entrance gates to the visitors side of the field.

Visitor stands

The visitors stands are oddly configured with only 3/4 of the hill covered in concrete bleachers (I'm guessing they left the other hill open for children to play on, because I know I did when I was a child since Hanna and Westside shared this stadium for quite some time). There are bathroom and concessions areas for the visitors in the those two buildings behind the stands. For the visiting fans you can't walk below the stands and get to your seats but you can walk through the stands or down from above.

Scoreboard with scrolling message board

Ticket gates

I'm not a Westside fan at all, but these next few pictures show why I think this setting makes Westside Stadium one of my favorites.

View from walk way to visitors side of the field

View from end zone

I couldn't back up enough to get both sides in the picture, but you understand what I'm trying to do here. I love stadiums that are built in a bowl. To me it adds to the atmosphere, the lights shine brighter and everything just seems more intense. I'd never pull for Westside, but the stadium was always fun to go to once a year for tailgating and fun times.

Pendleton High School, Pendleton, SC

2011-08-17T00:23:00.001-04:00

Pendleton High School Bulldogs

Pendleton High School is located in Anderson County, between the city of Anderson and the city of Clemson. Pendleton is in the 2-A classification of the South Carolina High School League and has an enrollment of 827. They have had a lot of recent success on the football field which pairs nicely with their three-year-old football stadium.

Home stands

Side-view of the home stands

The home stands are brand new replacing the old cement-style stands that stood before. They're extremely nice, and in good shape. However, that is a long hike to walk up there from the bottom, but with the way they were built there really wasn't any other option. The press box on top has plenty of room for both home and away radio teams, and gives coaches a nice birds-eye view of the field.

The side-view picture was taken just to show the slope of the stands and the entrances, pretty tall if you ask me. There seems to be some sort of storage building below the stands.

Visitors stands

The visitors stands also replace cement stands, and the design is perfect for the stadium. Just like Vestavia Hills, the visitors side is shorter and just a bit more narrow. The visitors side concession stand and bathrooms are scene in the far right corner. I love it when there are separate concessions and bathrooms for the home and visiting stands, because lets be honest those lines can get pretty long. The last thing about the visitors stands that I like are the middle entrances at the front. Fans don't have to crawl over one another as much if there were only side entrances.

Scoreboard

I love this scoreboard! It gives all the information a fan would like to see and there's even a little scrolling message board, which is a great touch. The logos on the top are a great addition and really make the board stand out.

Ticket gate

View of the home concession stands and bathrooms and a full view of the field.

Full view of the stadium from the tennis courts

I've never been to a game at Pendleton, but I really enjoyed seeing their football stadium. I also love all the trees planted behind the end zone to add some scenery (although it blocked my view of a perfect full stadium shot), and the hedges are also a nice touch. They've done a marvelous job with all the upgrades and it's one of, if not the best, football stadiums in Anderson County.
*If you use Google maps and search for Pendleton High School and click on the satellite view, you will not be able to see the current high school stadium. Apparently it wasn't built the last time a satellite picture was taken of the area. I thought that was pretty funny.

Crescent High School, Iva, SC

2011-08-15T23:28:00.001-04:00

Crescent High School Tigers

Crescent High School is located in Iva, SC just outside the city of Anderson but inside the county, but the high school serves the towns of Starr and Iva (which are located in the country). They are in the 2-A classification and the school has a student body of around 750 students. They are known for their stellar softball program. The stadium is small, but has several unique characteristics that add to its charm.

Home stands

The home stands have enough seating for the fans, and since they aren't that tall the side entrances work well. One thing I like about the side entrances here is that since most fans know each other any way, they are able to pass by and chat with one another on the way to their seats. The press box is tiny but it serves its purpose here, and there is room on top for the coaches to stand and get a good view of the game. The tiger mural in between the stands is a nice touch and one of the unique characteristics of the stadium.

Visitors stands

These are the visitor stands which might be a little small, but I have never been to a game at Crescent besides a JV game. However, I suspect that the seating is fine for most teams visiting. The press box/coaches area behind the stands is a neat touch, although I'm sure the coaches would like to have a more separated area to talk amongst themselves and the radio guys would probably like to be more distant to drown out crowd noises. But, this is a luxury at most 2-A high schools so it's something not to take for granted.

The other unique characteristic about this field is the field posts. I'm not sure what era or what the reason for their design is, but it looks like something out of the '60s and '70s and its awesome!

Scoreboard

Looks like a new scoreboard and it's great for Crescent. The sponsorship locations are great and not over-done, and the logo in the middle of the scoreboard is pretty sweet. Good job on the new scoreboard Crescent.

New concessions and bathrooms

Another great upgrade to the stadium with the new concessions and bathrooms. It's located in the spot where I took the end zone view picture, opposite the scoreboard.

End zone view of the stadium

It was good to get over to Crescent High School and see their football stadium. I hadn't been there in over 10 years and the only thing I had remembered from it was the tiger mural. Its a great small town football stadium and the field goal posts and mural are great touches along with the updated scoreboard and concession and bathroom area. I hope to make it over to a game at some point this season.

TL Hanna High School, Anderson, SC

2011-08-14T16:44:00.003-04:00

TL Hanna High School Yellow Jackets

*** Click on the pictures for a better resolution, I'm not sure what happened for these to be so blurry***

TL Hanna is located several miles from my house and it is where my father went to high school. Growing up I went to TL Hanna football games over at what is now Westside High Schools football stadium, formally known as District 5 Stadium. After a student died a little over 10 years ago, her family donated money for TL Hanna to build a new football stadium at the new campus. It's a gorgeous stadium and in my high school years it was always fun to go to games because Rafael Little was the RB (eventually signed w/ Kentucky, then was with the Tennessee Titans for a while and is now playing in the CFL). TL Hanna is also home of 'Radio', the lovable guy who still roams the hallways and leads the team out onto the field before every game. I will go into some more detail about him later. Enjoy!

Home stands

The home stands are unique because the bottom half that is built into the hill are cement with metal seats, and the top half are completely metal bleachers. You can walk up from the bottom or in through the middle entrances. There is a press box as you can see, and on top of the press box there are spaces for coaches to stand and watch the game. It spans the entire length of the field.

View from teachers parking lot

Visitors stands

The visitors stands don't exactly span the length of the field but come close to doing so. The can either be accessed from the bottom of the bleachers or the middle which is something I think is really nice at any football stadium. Other than that, they are just your standard metal bleachers. There are areas behind both the home and visitors stands for students to hang out which is nice.

Scoreboard

This is a standard high school scoreboard with everything you need when watching the game. There are game clock boards in both end zones which is a nice touch as well.

Close-up of the ticket gates

Wide shot of the ticket gates

Statue of James 'Radio' Kennedy

Radio was a young man when he started hanging around football practice back in the '60s. He was allowed to ride on the bus to away games, and attended all practices. He has been going to school at TL Hanna since then and has become a fixture at the school. There was a movie made about Radio in 2004 and it starred Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Harris. He got the name Radio from the transistor radio he would carry around with him wherever he went.

Front of the high school

I hope you enjoy one of my hometown high schools and the school that I rooted for growing up. It is a great place to watch a football game and even going to one home game just to see radio is a show in itself.

Next round

2011-08-13T16:15:00.000-04:00

The past several stadiums I've profiled have been from trips to south Georgia, Mobile and Birmingham. The next round of stadiums will be from the area I grew up: Anderson SC, Greenville SC and Athens GA. I'll finish up the ones from previous trips soon, but I want to profile some local stadiums first. Hope everyone is enjoying the blog, comment if you wish!

Vestavia Hills High School, Birmingham, AL

2011-08-13T15:29:00.003-04:00

Vestavia Hills Rebels

I visited Vestavia Hills High School while visiting my sister at Samford University. Tonya was along for this trip as well and these pictures are from her camera. Vestavia is in the 6-A classification of Alabama sports and has an enrollment around 1,250 (which seems small for a 6A school, however the smallest enrollment for a 6A school in Alabama is 744). There are a lot of medium sized high schools located in Alabama, you would think there would be a better way to split up the largest division, but nothing can be perfect (not saying Vestavia shouldn't be in 6A, but 744 seems small for the largest classification). Vestavia is located right outside Birmingham on the mountain (or large hills if-you-will). It is a gorgeous community and a great looking high school from an aesthetic point of view.

Home stands

The home stands are pretty neat in my opinion, except for the fact that there is no middle entrance to the stands. It is pretty large and the VH blue and red seats in the middle are a unique touch. The press box is great and I'm sure there are concessions and bathrooms on the bottom level. The stadium sort of sits in this valley up against the side of the hill where the home stands are located and it has the feeling of a great atmosphere when that place is full.

Visitors stands

The visitors stands compliment the home stands very well. It is shorter but the same width, which to me is the way it should be. There are plenty of seats available for the bigger schools coming in, although I'm sure it looks pretty empty when the smaller schools come to visit. Also I'm sure it is pretty intimidating to be standing over on the visiting sidelines looking up at that home side (the home side sitting on a hill has a daunting effect and makes it seem huge). I love the field goal posts with the double support, it's kind of old school. The entrance is great and if I remember correctly there are also entrance gates on the visitors side. The lights are supported by big metal poles and they aren't just situated on the sidelines of the field but also along the corners of the field.
There are a few more stadiums from Birmingham that I will profile in the coming weeks: Hoover, Wenonah and Mountain Brook. I'm hoping to get in John Carroll Catholic High School at some point. I loved taking a look at Vestavia Hills, not only because it's a great high school football stadium, but it's also a great town.

The Westfield School, Perry, GA

2011-08-11T16:14:00.000-04:00

The Westfield School Hornets

I came across The Westfield School on a trip to south Georgia. I was able to get in because the softball coach was there cleaning up the field, normally the gate is shut, so I got lucky and was able to take a few pictures before he left. The school itself is very pretty and is located in Perry, Ga. (I will be profiling Perry High School in a few days). The Westfield School has an enrollment of 570 students (PK-12) and is a 3-A member of the Georgia Independent Schools Association.

Home stands

The neat thing about this stadium is that the stands are wooden. I'm not sure if the whole thing is made of only wood, but a large portion of it is. It is a smaller stadium, but that is fine for a smaller school, especially when the visitors stands are just as big. The added hedges around the field give it a nice touch. I'm wondering if they were just recently planted or they trim them back to keep it shorter (I'd like to see them a little taller; maybe thats just the Georgia fan coming out in me). The press box is a really good size and gives coaches plenty of room to observe the game from above (although one set of coaches are probably in the same room with the radio team if there is one). Overall it is a very nice set of stands for the home fans.

Visitors stands, and Tonya doing the Heisman pose (or something like it haha)

Very standard set of bleachers for the visiting fans. No press box, which is a deviation from several of the previous stadiums profiled, but it is plenty of room for fans to mingle around and spread out. It is a decent walk over to the other side of the stadium, and there are no concessions located near them. Another noticeable characteristic of this stadium are the wooden poles that the lights are on. That's a first for the blog!

Great scoreboard, and wonderful support from a lot of local businesses

Back of the home stands, and concessions area

I was very glad that the softball coach was at the school when I drove by, it was right off the road I was traveling and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a few pictures. It was very interesting to see the wood-look of this stadium and it's always fun to get the chance to get out there on the field.

Luverne School, Luverne, AL

2011-08-09T12:54:00.000-04:00

Luverne School (formerly Luverne High School Tigers)

Luverne School was supposed to be the last stadium I visited on the way to Mobile in May, but then I hit up Brantley High School and Georgiana High School. Luverne houses PK-12 with a total enrollment of 1040 students, which puts it in the 3-A Alabama classification. I have a lot of pictures of this little stadium, and it is situated right inside the high school grounds. It's actually a pretty sweet location even though it is a small stadium.

Home stands (I'm assuming)

I am assuming that these are the home stands since they are newer and the press box is named. The visitors stands have a larger press box, but older, smaller stands. The building to the left is the end of the schools gym and the walk way from the entrance over to the home stands is very small, but it puts you right in the action. Very cool in my book.

Picture of the whole stadium

In this view, my back is straight against the wall of the school. Like I mentioned earlier, the walkway is very small, but it puts you right on the field. Also these stands are extremely close to the field, assuming that both squads are not very big and cheerleading squads are small, you will be up close and personal watching a football game at Luverne School.

Visitors side of the stadium

I'm guessing this is the former home side of the stadium judging by the pressbox, because what small school would have two press boxes unless they switched sides (Which seems to be a common thread in the stadiums I have visited, maybe the new thing now is to have a press box on both sides of the field, but I've only encountered that in small town stadiums not in the larger stadiums. Which makes me think that the schools has switched the sides around). This is set up very nice for the visiting fans, although it is spread out, it allows the fans to sit behind where ever their son probably stands for most of the game. It is also closer to the entrance than the home side is.

Entrance to the stadium

Nice record of state champs and state runner up, should be due any time now for that next state championship. The team is also in class 3-A now.

Scoreboard, I love the Tiger on top. Very unique touch for a basic scoreboard for a small school.

Side of the school

Press box on the home stands

State banners

I absolutely loved this stadium. The setting is awesome, where the school is located is pretty neat too. I would definitely drive down to this part of Alabama again on a Friday night to watch Brantley play and then come back through the next Friday night and watch Luverne play. Two amazing small town football stadiums that explain why I really love traveling around and visiting stadiums. Thanks Luverne School for letting me onto the field to take some pictures.

Jones County, Gray, GA

2011-08-08T21:55:00.000-04:00

Jones County High School Greyhounds

Jones County was a school Tonya and I came across on our way back from south Georgia. I think it was the last one we visited on the trip because I remember the camera dying while we were taking pictures, which is why there are only four of them. I apologize for not having more, especially one that shows the whole stadium or the sign of the school.

Home side of the field

The home side of the field is a decent size. This is a quad-A classification high school, and small one at that with the enrollment at 1,171 (schools w/ 1850+ students are placed in five-A). The far left side of the stands are shorter than the main section and was an addition in the past several years. Now there are no lines on the field yet, but these seats seem very close to the field which is awesome. The concession stand and booster club tent are right near by which is clutch for every fan and the scoreboard is visible to all. It's a very standard home-stands look, but it is functional in every way.

Thats the visitors side, and my gf in the picture. Her hair really isn't that poofy, windows rolled down will do that to long hair haha. Sorry Tonya! (it does look like something out of the 80s.

The one thing I like about the visitors stands at Jones County is that it gives the visiting band a section all to themselves. To me that is nice so that the fans do not have to worry about the band standing up or being in the way the entire game. Concessions aren't that close by, but definitely within hurry distance if you're needing to get back to the action. Also once again, let me point out how different the light poles are in the Georgia and Alabama stadiums than the oil rig looking light poles that a lot of the Texas stadiums have.

Entrance into the stadium.

This is a gorgeous entrance. Nice gated area, great statue and plaque to give the visiting fans a unique piece of information about Jones County. It also gives me a nice shot of the scoreboard which is the type of scoreboard that should be standard at every high school. JCHS has a typically standard high school stadium but the entrance and the hound pound sign are two things that set it apart.

Brantley High School, Brantley, Alabama

2011-08-05T01:51:00.000-04:00

I freaking love this sign. Old school.

I randomly happened upon Brantley High School (PK-12) when I was driving down to Mobile, AL in May 2011. It was out of the way, but as soon as I got into Alabama I got off the interstate and hit the back roads. I had just finished up at visit at Luverne High School (about 25 minutes away), and had told my buddy Alex that I would not stop by any more and I'd head straight to Mobile. That didn't happen because I stopped by two more.

I wasn't even looking for this place when I turned onto the main street and bam, I hit the jackpot.

Love this picture, taken from the middle of the road

This was a gem of a place! As I pulled in I saw a teacher standing outside the Admin. building and I asked him if it would be alright to take a few pictures. He said sure, and he took me down the the locker room and introduced me to the head coach, who in turn introduced me to the rest of the staff. The players had just finished with practice - a few were walking home and others were hitting the weights; and the coaches were studying in their section of the locker room. I talked with the head coach for a minute and he let me shoot away.

Visitors Side

The visitors side is pretty standard for a high school football stadium except it has a press box, which makes me think that the visitors side is a new addition. I'm sure at some point everyone sat on the home side of the field, but I could be wrong. The green seats are a nice touch, it makes me laugh because the visiting fans have to sit in them which could pose a problem sometimes haha.

Favorite picture

Wide shot of the field, I love pictures like this that show the whole stadium. I try to get one in every stadium I visit, but sometimes its not possible. This shot gives the player's point of view before they run out into this place, which is one of my all time favorite smaller stadiums. The head coach said it seats about 1500-2000 people which is pretty amazing considering the town population is 920 (Brantley is in the city of Luverne which has a population of 2600. And i'm not so sure that Brantley didn't have a bigger stadium than Luverne HS, which I'll profile later), and the school plays in single-A Alabama football.

Home side

Home side is pretty nice for a Single-A school. Not spread out, steep and compact. Perfect for keeping the noise level up, and giving everyone a great view of the game. Not to mention a very decent press box. This town keeps impressing me.

Great scoreboard for the school, pretty cool backdrop as well.

Bulldog statue

I'm not sure how long the statue has been there, but its a great addition to the already stellar facilities for a school this size. Total student body is around 580! I'm guessing the players touch the bulldog when they run out, but I do not know for sure.

Restrooms and Concessions

Locker room, weight lifting, and coaches offices

I had a great time stopping by Brantley High School, and I want to thank Coach Lowery for letting me chat for few minutes and take some pictures of his stadium. Good luck in the upcoming season, and if I'm ever down that way in the fall I would definitely stop by to watch the bulldogs play.

Dooly County High School, Vienna, Georgia

2011-08-05T00:38:00.000-04:00

As my girlfriend and I were driving back to Anderson, SC from Cordelle, GA after spending a weekend at the lake, I convinced her to let me stop by a few HS stadiums and take pictures. We stopped at five HS's on the way back, and I had a blast. Tonya, not so much haha. However, she was very patient with me even though it made the trip back 2 hours longer.

Dooly County's stadium was pretty small, but large for single-A Georgia High School Classification.

The set up is very interesting with the entrance to the stadium located on the visitors side of the field. It is obvious that the visitors stands had been either redone or replaced recently and the home side looks newer as well. The split seating sections is something I had never seen before except at Charleston Southern University. Very interesting to say the least, but it gave me a decent shot at the field. Take notice of the light poles, very different from New Braunfels High.

This next picture makes me think that the visitors side used to be the home side, because there is a pressbox on both sides, which is not very common at high school stadiums unless they end up switching the seating around.

Very interesting set up for the ticket counter haha, but that's one thing I love about these small town football stadiums. It adds character, history and it is very intriguing.

A gazebo sits right outside the stadium, probably a class gift at some point in time. Kind of a romantic feel to it, most definitely a spot where HS kids have made memorable moments.

I really enjoyed getting to visit Dooly High, and even more so I enjoyed the town of Vienna. Very tiny, very southern and tons of history. Dooly County is definitely one of the most unique stadiums I have been to, and if I'm ever down that way again I'd love the chance to catch a game there.

I'll leave you with this parting photo: Go Bobcats!

Also, if you're wondering what the wooden structure is in the picture, I've been told it is for handicap seating.

More coming next week

2011-05-19T00:35:00.001-04:00

Last week I discovered that I could not find pictures on the rest of the stadiums I have visited. Last night however I found those pictures. 11 stadiums total.
Today I drove down to Mobile, AL to visit some friends for a few days and I made visits to 5 other stadiums along US 29 in East/Southeast AL. Those will be up soon as well.

The stadium that started it all. Ratliff Stadium (TX)

2011-05-11T00:48:00.000-04:00

I know its a big picture, but it has to be to describe how gorgeous this stadium is. This is the stadium Friday Night Lights is centered around, the book, the movie and the television series (though the TV series is not shot here). After reading the book Friday Night Lights - A Town, A Team, and A Dream, by H.G. Bissinger, I was hooked in finding large high school football stadiums. Over time my love has evolved to every high school stadium I can find, but it all started with the big ones, and Texas has the biggest and the best. Allen school district is building an $18 million stadium over the next year that seats 26K people. Three times bigger than the stadium that my college uses.
After finding out we would be driving through Texas on my trip this summer I had only one request; to visit Ratliff Stadium. Home to the Permian Panthers and Odessa Bronchos (yes the spelling is correct). This place rises out of the flat grounds of Texas and dips into the earth, a wild look when standing in the parking lot. It seats 22K people and even though it is not filled every Friday night in the fall, most Friday nights it is. We got very lucky when pulling up to this place because the gates were locked, however a maintenance man was about to leave and was kind enough to let us in for 15 minutes. The 15 minutes turned into 30 as he told me and my dad stories of games in the 80s and 90s; the hey-day for Permian football. He had worked there for 45 years and was proud to have been employee of the district. He let us onto the field to take pictures and told us how crazy it was when they filmed the movie "Friday Night Lights" there.

This is the visitors side of the stadium. Nothing very special about it, except it holds more than the average high school stadium holds. There are concession stands and bathrooms on the other side. But I imagine it is pretty hot sitting over there in the hot Texas fall. The outside of the stadium is lined in trees and it looks pretty neat, giving it almost a circular arena.

This is the home side of the stadium. Same structure as the visitors except for the large press box sitting on top. This side, just like the visitors holds about 11K people. It has 'bowl-like' entrances which means you enter in the middle and either go up or go down. Concessions and restrooms are located behind the seats.

Another thing I did not mention in the New Braunfels HS post is that the one other thing I love to look at when I visit high school stadiums is the scoreboards. Ratliff Stadium has a great one. In one endzone there is a videoboard/scoreboard, and on the other just a plain scoreboard. That is very rare for most high school stadiums, but since this one is so big it is necessary.

It was truly amazing to be able to visit Ratliff Stadium. I've loved it ever since I finished the book about 8 years ago and I never thought I would be able to get out to Texas and enjoy seeing this monster. It was also great to get to talk to someone who had been there for everything I had read and heard about Permian football and the town of Odessa. There are two more pictures I am going to share with you. One is just of a parking lot. The maintenance guy told me that when they filmed the movie, that the parking lot was full of RV's and movie crews and make shift concession stands and all of that stuff that tags along to a movie scene. The other picture is of the back side of the home stands. It is a pretty neat view of the press box and the RV I traveled in that summer. Hope you enjoyed the post, and check back soon for more pictures and stories of stadiums I've visited throughout my travels.

New Braunfels High School Unicorns (TX)

2011-05-03T00:56:00.001-04:00

The first stadium I will blog about is New Braunfels HS in New Braunfels, TX.

And yes, that is a Unicorn on the sign for NBHS. As my family and I were driving through Texas this summer we randomly passed by here and as soon as I saw that the stadium name was Unicorn Stadium, we had to stop. I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated for Kids many years ago about strange high school nicknames, and I'm pretty sure this might have been on there.
The stadium is built out of metal, and looks like your basic high school football stadium. Both the home and visitor sides are of equal length with the home side having a press box built on top. There was a decent amount of parking behind the visitors section, but most of the parking was in the actual school parking lot. One neat thing I started to notice about all these stadiums is the way the lights are constructed. To me they look like the tall structures that are built on oil fields that house the machinery used to pump the oil. I've never thought to look at the lights before, but during this trip most of the schools utilized this feature. It may be the way all across the nation. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled next time I pass by a stadium.
Another feature of the high school football stadium I like to look at is the entrance, which includes the section where tickets are taken up and the fans enter the field. This particular stadium had a tiny ticket booth, which to me is classic. It's old school and that's what I love to see. It doesn't match very well with the modern look of this stadium, so it definitely stands out.
**This entrance may be a former entrance, and tickets could be taken up at the gate in the background, but there were windows on that little brick building.
One thing I find hilarious about this picture is the hoof prints leading into the gates. They seriously have some Unicorn pride, which they should for such a unique mascot.
The reason for stopping by this stadium was not because of the uniqueness of the structure, and it was not even one of my planned stops but after seeing the mascot name I knew we had to make a special stop to snap a few photos of this high school.
Here are some more photos:

Getting Started

2011-04-29T02:13:00.000-04:00

This is my first post, so let me introduce myself.

I am an avid sports fan who is in love with stadiums, particularly high school football stadiums. I guess my love for high school stadiums began in high school, but ever since I was a child, stadiums have been a hobby of mine. On every vacation, I would get a '10' (which means I would get to choose my favorite thing to do while on vacation), and I always chose stadium visits. There have been too many to name, but most of the time we would walk up to the stadium and just ask them if we could look around. We only paid for a tour once. Most of the time they would just let us roam around and take pictures. All of those were professional stadiums: Cleveland Indians, Tennessee Titans (didn't have to pay), Yankee Stadium (didn't have to pay), The Vet (Old Phillies and Eagles dome, didn't have to pay), Fenway Park, Busch Stadium (didn't have to pay), Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, Turner Field and the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. I've also been to numerous college football stadiums: UGA, Clemson, Ga Tech, Auburn, Alabama, Jacksonville (Ga/Florida game), South Carolina, the Rose Bowl, Superdome (Sugar Bowl), Samford University, Presbyterian College, Furman University, Coastal Carolina, The Citadel, Wofford University, Liberty University, Mars Hill College, Newberry College and Louisville. I haven't been to most stadiums, to say the least, but I have been blessed with parents who understand, and who have grasped my passion, allowing dme to visit a lot of places and experience many different venues. I'll share some experiences from those trips along the way, but mostly this blog will serve to share my experiences visiting high school football stadiums from the east coast to the west.

To explain my love for high school stadiums I will say this. I went to a small Christian high school with no football team. However, one of the local high schools is located near my house and I grew up going to their games with my family. Once I got in high school, I had many friends who went to TL Hanna and I enjoyed watching them play. Rafael Little, a 4-star RB, was playing for them at the time and it was a treat just to watch him play. We traveled to away games, tailgated at home games and had a blast. Visiting all the different stadiums on our away trips was fun and I began to enjoy the tradition and history that each stadium held. Most stadiums were old. Some had additions added onto them which gave them even more character. Once I went off to college I met friends from all over the southeast. Traveling back to their hometowns I would always take the back roads and stop by high school and take pictures of their stadiums to start a collection. This is where the blog comes in. After several attempts from my mother to start this thing, I've finally jumped in.