Plan to Rename Stadium for Elway Postponed

Granada Hills High School has postponed renaming its Bryce Schurr Football Stadium, dedicated to the school’s founding principal, for pro football’s John Elway because of a fierce community outcry that has turned what was supposed to be a “feel-good event” ugly.

The June 5 rededication ceremony, which the Denver Bronco quarterback and Granada Hills alumnus was expected to attend, has instead been put off indefinitely as administrators and school boosters regroup in the face of letters, phone calls and negative publicity.

Critics of the change say it is a shameful example of society’s fascination with celebrity and disregard for teachers’ dedication. Supporters of the renaming say it is an issue being blown out of proportion by outsiders who are not active at Granada Hills High.

“The issue is, in our society, where educators do not seem to be respected, where actors and athletes are promoted, what about teachers and educators who brought Granada Hills to prominence?” said Lee Kanon Alpert, a local lawyer and vocal opponent of the name change.

Those who favor the change note that Elway, a Stanford University graduate and an expected future pro football hall of famer, was a standout athlete and scholar at his alma mater, from which he graduated in 1979. The intention was never to push Schurr’s name aside, school Principal Kathy Rattay said. In fact, she said, the school had planned to rename the entire athletic facility, including a gym and offices, in honor of Schurr.

Until this week, Rattay said, Alpert was the only community member to contact her with concerns about the plan.

“We wanted to do something positive for the community,” Rattay said. “Our kids were so excited about having John Elway here. We never wanted to bring in John Elway at the expense of Bryce Schurr.”

Steve Rinaldi, a past president of the booster club who has been active at the school for 12 years, said the school was excited about the upcoming ceremony.

“Everyone I had talked to from the faculty to the students to the boosters to members of the community thought this was a great idea,” Rinaldi said. “The idea was that this would be a nice recognition for the school.”

Rattay said she believes the decision has been mischaracterized by Alpert, whom she said was not fully aware of Elway’s work with the school or with their plans to continue to honor Schurr.

Alpert, who said he sent an e-mail to Rattay last week after discussing the renaming at a community meeting, said Rinaldi and others who say he is an outsider are missing the point.

“It’s an attempt to deflect the issue, which is they made a mistake,” Alpert said. “To take down the name of a well-respected educator who has been up there for a multiple of years is the wrong message to send to our kids.”

Jane Noltemeyer, who lived behind Schurr’s residence in San Fernando from 1959 until his death in 1971, said she was shocked to hear the school would even consider changing the name of the stadium.

“I think it’s horrible, horrible that they want to take Bryce’s name off,” Noltemeyer said. “He was a wonderful man. You couldn’t find a more wonderful man, very compassionate.”

The school’s proposal to instead name the school gym for Schurr does not appease Noltemeyer.

“I think things should remain as-is,” she said. “There shouldn’t be anything changed.

In an e-mail, which Alpert began, “Ok my friends,” he states that when he spoke to Rattay she “couldn’t recite one thing John Elway has done for the Granada Hills football, baseball, or educational program to date.”

But Barbara Romey, who lives four blocks from Alpert and is active at the school, said Elway has gone above and beyond in helping the school with donations for auctions year after year.

“All we’ve ever had to do is ask,” said Romey, one of the school’s main fund-raisers. “He [Elway] has sent jerseys and signed footballs. Last year he came out for the alumni baseball game and signed autographs for the kids for hours.”

She also said Alpert is still nursing a grudge toward Darryl Stroh, the school’s football coach who coached Alpert’s son in baseball years ago. The younger Alpert was never allowed to pitch on the baseball team, Romey said, a claim Alpert called “ridiculous.”

Stroh, 58, who came out of retirement this year to help coach the football team, said the whole mess has left him heartsick.

It was Stroh, hired by Schurr in 1969 and who coached Elway in football in the 1970s, who proposed the idea of renaming the stadium to a group of Elway’s high school teammates in the wake of excitement over the Elway-led Broncos’ January Super Bowl victory.

Walking along the bald football field, just bare dirt waiting for a spring reseeding, Stroh pointed up at the tin sign proclaiming “Bryce Schurr Stadium, Home of the Highlanders” scrawled high above the bleachers.

“My whole idea was to do better than that,” Stroh said. “I wanted huge letters on the gym naming it for Schurr. I think it would have been even better.”

Stroh said they want to make it the Bryce Schurr athletic complex, with a bust of the principal in the gym and large lettering across the front of the gym.

“We thought the idea we had was a promotion. We’re surprised at the negative feelings on this thing and never intended it to cause this controversy,” Stroh said.

Stroh said the school was trying to contact Schurr’s son in Canada to let him know of its plans and see what he thinks.

He said one idea would be to name it John Elway field and keep it Schurr stadium. Alpert said that would be fine with him.

Indeed, many in the community vividly remember Schurr and still want to honor him.

“He was a tremendous human being,” said Patty Friedman (Class of ‘63), who still lives in Granada Hills. “To wipe out somebody who meant so much to students is wrong.”

Friedman said officials at the school were unresponsive when she called to protest.

“Any time you make a change like this you should require community involvement,” she said.

So far, the campus itself seems to have remained untouched by all the uproar. Several students interviewed Thursday said they were barely aware of who Schurr was and knew little of the controversy.

Stroh said he is just sorry for any embarrassment the controversy has caused Elway. He said members of the Denver media had contacted him for comment.

“I’m just embarrassed and depressed it has come to this,” Stroh said. “All we wanted to do is give Elway an honor.”