What you must understand
- Dayton opens Green Devil Stadium with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community celebration.
- New complex features turf field, fieldhouse, and modern amenities between the high school and elementary school.
- Ceremony honors the legacy of O.W. Davis Field, Kentucky s oldest high school football stadium at its closure.
Dayton’s crown treasure.
Several administrators from the Dayton Independent School District are characterizing the district’s new sports complex in this way.
The new bleachers were crowded with people wearing green, all of whom were yelling “Go Devils” at the direction of school officials. Dayton had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the complex, which took more than a year to construct, on Thursday, August 14.
As a number of speakers, alumni, and community members talked about the new facility’s potential benefits for Dayton, the festive atmosphere persisted throughout the evening.
According to Superintendent Rick Wolf, our kids had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural Go Devils camp in this new stadium. In addition to doing the Go Big Green shout with our band, kids had the opportunity to sing the fight song for the first time in this stadium.
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The construction of the new Green Devil Stadium, known as the Project One project, is estimated to have cost between $14 and $15 million. The money was used to cover the costs of building, purchasing the property, and demolishing the old buildings.
The new complex, which is situated along the Ohio Riverfront between Dayton High School and Lincoln Elementary School, features a turf football field, a fieldhouse, metal bleachers, and other facilities. Following the completion of construction, Dayton and Bellevue High School became the last two football schools in Northern Kentucky to convert from natural grass to a turf field.
Several speakers honored O.W. Davis Field, Dayton’s former home stadium, which the Green Devils had occupied since 1934, despite the joyous atmosphere of the ceremony. The field has a number of vintage features, including a stone wall enclosing parts of it, and was praised by high school football fans for its historic appeal. It was Kentucky’s oldest surviving high school football field until it was closed last fall.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, a public works initiative from the New Deal era, included the stadium’s construction. O.W. Davis Field has played host to a number of significant sporting events, including as the 1937 Cincinnati Bengals scrimmage.
During the ceremony, Mayor Ben Baker related a story about a time he spent with a Green Devil football player during O.W. Davis Field’s closing. He was informed by the player that it was an honor to play in the stadium’s final game. According to Baker, the community’s tenacity and dedication were embodied by the new stadium.
According to Baker, this field is more than just grass with goalposts and seats. Young athletes will pursue their goals there, and families will come together to support them and commemorate the life-changing decision he made. They teach character development, the lessons of failure, and the joys of victory out here on the 100 yards. A portion of Dayton is represented by this field. It’s our pride, our tenacity, and our dedication to providing the best opportunity for our children to develop, compete, and thrive.
On August 29, Dayton will play Pendleton County in its inaugural varsity game at the new Green Devil Stadium.
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