Valdosta High, the winningest program in high school football history, will play in a rebuilt Bazemore-Hyder Stadium beginning this season. The result is a $6.5-million SPLOST-funded project that bears little resemblance to the historic but aging stadium that stood on the corner of Brookwood, Williams and Slater Streets from 1922 to 2003.
``Its beautiful. It's hard to believe were going to play in a stadium that nice,'' Valdosta head coach Rick Darlington said. ``I've never seen anything like it, from the stands, to the bricks, to the turf, to the locker room. And the tradition and the intrigue, it's unbelievable. It about leaves you speechless, to think that were going to play in that stadium.''
Valdosta High opened the stadium Aug. 20 with a 28-7 win over Shiloh High. Valdosta High plays seven regular-season home games this season, including the crosstown battle with Lowndes High on Oct. 8.
``It's about a 12-month project, and the contractor is getting it done in less than eight months,'' said Bill Aldrich, Director of Operations for Valdosta City Schools, who has overseen construction for the school system. ``They've put in some long days, because they've got to get it done (by the start of football season).''
When the final game of 2003, the AAAAA state championship between Valdosta and Camden County, was played at Bazemore-Hyder, the stadium was showing its age. Parts of the stadium looked run down. There were cracks in the stadiums foundation. The stands in the west end zone were condemned, unsuitable for fans to sit in. It was old, and overdue for the facelift it was about to get.
One of the biggest and most noticeable differences will be the stands. The old bench seating is gone. Fans sitting in the middle three sections will instead be sitting in plastic chair seats.
Those chairs are colored either yellow or black, the Wildcats colors. Most of sections C and E are yellow, while most of D is black. In C and E, a group of black seats has been arranged in the shape of a Wildcat paw, while D has a group of yellow seats in the shape of a V.
The outside four sections of the home stands will have bench seating, but with backs on the benches. Those benchbacks are yellow.
The home stands are now raised several feet off the ground. They are accessible by ramps coming up from underneath the stands. Signs at the bottom of the ramps will identify to which sections they lead.
There are no more end zone seats. The new home stands have enough extra seats to make up for the loss of end zone seating.
There are 48 spots reserved for wheelchair-bound fans, 24 on the first row and 24 more on the top row, along with companion seating. An elevator takes patrons to the top wheelchair row and the press box.
The visitors side stands also received minor renovations, a new paint job, renovated benches and handrails in each aisle.
In the locker rooms, each player will have their own wooden locker. The coaches have their own office. So do the trainers and game officials. Unlike it was in the old stadium, the visitors locker room is built the same way. Cleveland Fields turf, has changed, too. The grass has been taken out and replaced with Sprinturf, a synthetic surface with a rubber infill. The surface will be as soft as dirt, looks similar to grass, and requires much less maintenance. It will play more like real grass than Astroturf.
Another feature of new Bazemore-Hyder Stadium is the Wildcat museum. The museum houses many items from Valdosta's past, from trophies to pictures to jerseys, and many other items. The museum, maintained by the Valdosta High Touchdown Club, will open 90 minutes before kickoff on game nights and close before the game.
Next to the museum is the memorial courtyard. The courtyard contains personalized bricks sold by the Touchdown Club. The bricks include names of past, present and future Wildcats, including the entire inaugural Wildcat team from 1913, and Wildcat fans. It also holds the monuments to Valdosta coaching legends Wright Bazemore and Nick Hyder and former superintendent A.G. Cleveland, the men that Cleveland Field at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium is named after, that were at the old stadium.
``If they had never done a thing to it, it's still Death Valley. That would have been fine,'' Darlington said. ``For them to do all this, it's just unbelievable.
``It's gone from being maybe the most historic stadium in the country to maybe the best.''
http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/8/153616