EVANSVILLE — The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. says its high school football stadiums should be ready by the 2026 season despite ongoing construction this summer.
Each of the five facilities underwent some form of change this offseason, ranging from cosmetic additions to multi-million dollar improvements. EVSC chief communications officer Jason Woebkenberg said the target date of Week 1 on Aug. 21 remains in place.
“Everything is on track for Week 1,” Woebkenberg said. “Reitz Bowl is basically completed and ready to go. Enlow started later, so work does continue for that. There may be some ongoing work taking place for Week 1 of football season.”
Here’s a reminder of all the changes coming to each stadium and the updated cost.
Reitz Bowl
This project was arguably the most expansive update, at least in terms of cost and work.
Construction at the 105-year-old stadium began last offseason. Among the early changes were the ADA-compliant ramp from the bottom of the Bowl to the fieldhouse, a new brick concession stand on the visitor’s side, a ticket booth on the upper fieldhouse side and concrete on the upper sidewalks and curbs in preparation for additional work following the season.
Most of the ensuing work involved new seating across the home side and work on the facility itself due to a failed product during repainting of the stands in 2020. New LED lights were also swapped on all sides of the field. The annual Reitz-Mater Dei scrimmage on Aug. 14 will be the first football game played since work was completed.
The cost for the project was $7.26 million. Reitz and Mater Dei share the field during football season.
“(These stadiums) aren’t just for athletes,” Woebkenberg said. “They are truly community hubs. They’re for all of our students. It’s so important for us in the EVSC to make sure we’re investing in these and making sure they’re top quality for the students.”
Romain Stadium
The 15-year-old stadium received new synthetic turf this offseason after the initial field reached its lifespan.
Planning started last year with construction immediately following graduation in May. The initial cost was $684,660 with an additional contract of $72,078 approved in July to remove and replace damaged wood nailer, install new treated wood nailer (per Sprinturf specifications) around entire perimeter, work involving the existing field rock base and track protection from damage during stone installation.
This is the final EVSC football field to receive upgraded turf: Reitz and Central in 2021, Bosse in 2024 and North in 2025. The design scheme follows the latter with different shades of green every five yards. The end zones utilize Harrison’s red and black color scheme. The first scheduled contest to utilize it is Harrison’s scrimmage against Mount Vernon on Aug. 14.
The football program has practiced this summer at McGary Middle School.
“It’s great for our student athletes, ” Harrison athletic director Nathan Fleenor said. “This used to be a baseball field when I first started here. We go from that to a nice, new stadium and now an upgraded, very new looking stadium. It was time to get an upgrade when we had the opportunity. It’s not normal for a lot of schools and communities to go to a facility like this to watch a football game.
“The hope is young Warriors and people in the community want to play on this someday. It’s going to be great to see football here this fall and track meets in the spring at a facility like this.”
Enlow Field
Approved last summer for $5.98 million, most of the work has been completed per school officials. The major portion that remains is installing new bleachers on the home side, which wasn’t added as of July 29. The first football game scheduled is Week 1 between Bosse and Boonville.
The other big change to the 100-year-old stadium included making the home side bathrooms ADA compliant and removing the first few rows of seating. The former received a leveled entrance compared to the previous step down to a lower floor. The upper tunnels in the middle were removed but added seating in their place. Enlow Field also received a new press box and sound system, plus additional support beams.
Bosse and Memorial share Enlow during football season.
Other changes: All five EVSC stadiums received new LED video scoreboards via a partnership with Liberty Federal Credit Union. They have already been implemented including Central Stadium and Bundrant Stadium (North). The former is also resurfacing its track (cost of $612,800).
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Will construction at EVSC football stadiums be complete for 2026 season?
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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By Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press | USA TODAY Network
