There’s still time to help Escambia High School win a $1 million upgrade to Emmitt Smith Field.
The school is one of 25 finalists in T-Mobile’s “Friday Night 5G Lights” competition, which gives cities with under 150,000 residents a chance to improve their football facilities.
Dana Boddy, Escambia High’s principal, said the upgrade is sorely needed because the stadium — which no one seems to remember when or if it’s ever been refurbished — floods when it rains.
“We had to cancel a JV-freshmen football game on Monday night due to flooding,” she said, adding it only takes a few seconds to cast a vote to support the school.
“We’re about 300,000 votes behind, but if we could get 45,000 more votes each day, until the deadline on Oct. 24, we’ll have an opportunity to get back toward the lead.”
Finalists were announced on Sept. 25, and the winning school will be announced on Oct. 30.
Along with the upgrade, the school will have a professional consultation with a stadium expert, an upgraded weight room through GronkFitness.com, an all-expenses paid trip for 16 school representatives to the 2025 SEC championship game and a T-Mobile tailgate party in 2026 to unveil the planned stadium upgrades.
Escambia High and the other finalists also received a $25,000 grant, and the Gators won $5,000 as part of T-Mobile’s “5K Fridays” earlier this fall.
Boddy said some residents are worried about spam if they participate in the contest.
“There’s no risk of spam emails, and this doesn’t cost anything except a little bit of time,” Boddy said, adding the upgrades would impact Escambia High students for generations to come.
Anyone who wants to support the school can vote here once a day with a valid email address.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia High’s football field is woefully in need of upgrades. Resident can help for free
Reporting by Mary Lett, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
