Sep. 27, 2018
Lights, turf action: Remodeled Tomlinson Stadium nearly ready for first CWU football game
There’s going to be plenty of excitement surrounding Central Washington’s true home opener this coming Saturday.
Funny thing is, a good deal of that anticipation may have less to do with a Wildcats football team coming off a third-straight (one-sided?) GNAC victory.
Most of the fans filling Tomlinson Stadium also want be get their first look at the extensive renovation of the venerable facility that had not changed significantly since opening in 1959.
And there have been plenty of changes, starting with a new lighting system, with the game against West Texas A&M being Central’s first-ever Tomlinson night game. The contest will also be the first played on the new artificial turf surface, with a new Wildcat Plaza and an elevated Alumni Plaza beyond the north end zone for boosters and alumni to watch games.
“It’s exciting. We’re ready to have that first game,” athletic director Dennis Francois said earlier this week. “The lights and the turf. It’s a landmark day for us.”
“It’s beautiful,” assistant director of athletic communication Caleb Dunlop said of the stadium, adding that he got a chance to see the field at night recently. “When they turned (the lights) on, I was ready to suit up. It’s extremely exciting.”
Workers finished installing the field this past week, putting down the lines, yard markers and logos, and all major construction was expected to be finished by this weekend. Between now and Saturday, the only things left to wrap up are more cosmetic elements.
Read this article in its entirety online at the Yakima Herald Republic.