It’s the first athletic facility of its kind on Badin property in the school’s 60-year history.
On Friday afternoon, a pep rally was used as a cheering exercise to better prepare students for the stadium’s home football opener on Sept. 5 against Edgewood High School.
Some students, especially freshmen, were seeing the stadium for the first time, said Badin President Brian Pendergest.
“This is the first time to have our whole school community here so we’re excited about that,” said Pendergest before addressing the students filling most of the large home stands in the new stadium.
“And this is also to set our expectations for how we want our students to behave at games and to get them excited for the football and all the sports seasons,” he said.
Badin boys and girls’ outdoor sports teams have for decades been sports nomads without their own campus athletic field. But the years of playing home games at rented sports fields in Hamilton, Fairfield and beyond are at an end, giving the current students a historic school year for their prep programs.
“This is amazing for the school and an amazing addition to our school,” said senior Izzy Stokes who was among the student body leaders to address the students at the stadium rally.
“The freshmen are really excited and they have the next four years to take advantage of this field.”
Senior classmate Connor Hartford said the stadium “is everything.”
“For the first time we don’t have to travel to someone else’s stadium to have our home games. It really adds to the sense of pride we have for our school and it’s a real testimony to all the Badin alumni,” said Hartford.
At Badin, he said, “it’s a like a family here and the family doesn’t stop when you graduate because it continues on and the alumni come back and those are our brothers and sisters from Badin.”
Also on Friday, the Badin Rams won the annual crosstown showdown football game against Hamilton High School 38-20. The game was on HHS’ turf at Virgil Schwarm Stadium.
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