Beloit community raises millions of dollars for renewed football stadium

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — With high school football underway, one Kansas high school is debuting a brand new look for its nearly 100-year-old stadium.

Beloit is a town of a little less than 3,500 people, but when called to help fund stadium renovations at the high school, it only took a matter of weeks to raise millions of dollars to get construction underway.

Since 1939, Beloit High School has been playing at the same football stadium.

“The history of our stadium: it was built during the great depression with locals who came and worked there,” Beloit superintendent Casey Seyfert said.

The nearly century-old stadium was in need of an update, and that’s when Beloit native Heather Johnson was tasked with asking around the community for help in fundraising. The original goal was a little more than a million dollars, and it was just for the track.

“I told Casey, ‘There’s no way. There’s no way,'” Johnson said.

They soon added in the cost of the football field and related facilities, but it didn’t matter. In 68 days, the school district raised $3.2 million.

“Our hope was that we can raise this large amount of money in two years. But to accomplish $3.2 million in 68 days was nowhere on our radar,” Johnson said. “It honestly was the most impactful two months of my entire life.”

School leaders say they were blown away by the community response.

“It was just unbelievable,” Seyfert said. “The amount of people that came, not only alumni, but all the businesses around our community that wanted to support and use it as a source of pride and a focal point of our community.”

Since then, construction crews, many of them local, have been hard at work. After putting turf on the football field last season, they are finishing up the track and other facilities ahead of their first home game this season.

“Once the turf got done last year, we started practicing on it. And then being able to watch the stadium just completely transform,” Beloit’s head football coach Brad Gober said. “It’s been really cool. Our kids just are in awe of what a beautiful facility it is.”

The community now has the chance to celebrate their local team with the facilities they helped build.

“It’s businesses, but it’s also from little kids who had a lemonade stand to a $1 million pledge and everyone in between,” Johnson said. “There really are very few people in our community and among our alumni who haven’t taken part in this project in one way or another.”

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After playing on the road in their opening game of the season, the Beloit Trojans are playing host to Concordia on Friday at 7 p.m. However, with the heat, make sure to pay attention in case there are any changes to the game time.

To nominate a person or business for Positive Connections, Beloit community raises millions of dollars.

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