Refurbished School Stadium Ready for Play

The Oak Park High School Eagles now have a finer roost.

Workers Thursday were putting the finishing touches on the high school’s new scoreboards, part of a $1.2-million renovation of the Eagles’ football stadium and other facilities.

The most visible improvement to the 14-year-old stadium is the aluminum and concrete bleachers, which march up the hill alongside the football field and new running track to the campus above.

A stout, concrete block press box perches at the stadium’s summit, offering a panoramic view of the action below, as well as the rolling hills that surround the campus.

“I think it’s something to take a great deal of pride in for our school, because it’s probably one of the finest facilities in the county,” said Eagles’ head football coach Dick Billingsley.

Billingsley said he is also proud of the stadium’s winged visitors--an eagle much like the school’s mascot and several hawks.

“Every time we come out on the field, there’s four or five of them,” he said.

The new bleachers, almost three times as high as the ones they replaced, will seat more than 2,000 people, allowing the school to accommodate all of the Eagles’ supporters, Billingsley said.

Other improvements to Oak Park High’s athletic facilities include the track and scoreboards for the football stadium and baseball field, a new sound system and a well-equipped weight room.

A new building housing a snack bar and restrooms has also been constructed next to the football stadium’s scoreboard, making the portable toilets that were hauled in each season to accommodate fans a memory.

The improvements are part of an ambitious expansion project at Oak Park High, which also includes a new building for English and history classes, a foyer for the school’s gymnasium and a food service court.

A presentation room in the new classroom building is the site of monthly meetings for Oak Park’s municipal advisory council.

Mildred Andress, the recently appointed principal overseeing Oak Park High’s 720 students, said gearing up for the coming football season in the new stadium has been “great fun.”

“You can’t ask for anything more,” she said. “The view here is absolutely incredible.”

Andress said her students also appear excited about the new stadium--they have been thinking up all kinds of excuses to come out and wander around the facility since school started.

The Eagles have already played one pre-season game in the stadium against El Segundo, which they lost last week. Administrators at Oak Park High will officially open the new facility at 7:10 p.m. today before the Eagles’ second pre-season match, against Calabasas, at 7:30.