GREENVILLE – After the tornado came through our City Park on May 7, 2024, some interested GHS alumni approached Superintendent Doug Fries about moving forward to the final step of Phase III of the Harmon Field Renovation Project.
This encompasses tearing down the old stadium and replacing it with a new structure. It had been on the drawing board for awhile but a catalyst to move forward with the final Phase III was Dick Brown donating money to the Greenville City Schools to acquire the naming rights to this stadium. This name is “GREENVILLE ALUMNI STADIUM” and will be seen on the arch that will greet everyone as they enter the stadium on the home side.
The Board of Education accepted this request and the name will stand permanently in the future. As much as we hated to see part of our past destroyed, most people knew that a crumbling and water-leaking concrete structure that was 87 years old needed to be replaced with a new, modern facility that would stand for many years.
The cost of this demolition and new construction is over $4,000,000. The Board of Education is responsible for making this payment. A unique opportunity has surfaced that will allow anyone to also donate to this towards the new stadium and be recognized forever.
A bronze plaque will be placed at the Alumni Stadium on the new ticket booth and list those who have donated $1,000 and more. At the end of the money collection period at the end of this calendar year 2025, a booklet will be made up to honor all of those who give any amount to the stadium construction. This will be a permanent memory of the successes of this year, 2025. These donations are all tax-deductible and checks can be made to the 501 C3 non-profit organization, the Greenville Schools Foundation. All funds will go to the Greenville City Schools with no intermediary entity receiving any of the donated money. A receipt will be sent to you from the Greenville National Bank, which is the temporary collection point for money going to the Greenville City Schools.
Dick also proposed and donated money for the “Alumni Arch” in front of the ticket booth as fans enter the stadium. Mike Manix’s (GHS 1999) Construction class in the Career Tech Center at GHS was challenged to come up with an acceptable design for this arch. An original sketch of this was done by GHS’s upcoming Senior Jack Suter (GHS 2026) with refinements made by Engineer Mike Henderson to meet the State of Ohio code regulations.
Jack’s design incorporates many details included in its final appearance. The arch is in front of the ticket booth, which replaced the old one donated by Tom Hunt, class of 1945. The new ticket booth is a newer, modern construction, but still honors the great gift that Tom gave to the school in 1970. A plaque that Tom had made up will be attached to the new, modernized ticket booth. This ticket booth is a little larger than the original, being 16 feet by 12 feet, and the arch is also 16 feet wide and 10 feet high.
Per Dick’s request, the new arch will have LED lighting and will be a nice welcome to all who come to the stadium. The Board of Education added some improvements to be included in the final product.
The Alumni Stadium will become the “People’s Stadium” with everyone in our city and school district being able to relate to this as “their” stadium. There will be about 2,200 seats on the home side and 1,300 seats on the visitors’ side. This is considerably larger in capacity than the Jennings Track and Field bleachers, which hold approximately 900.
The combination of these two complementary stadiums/bleachers, along with the intermediate Fieldhouse built in 2022, gives Greenville a first-rate athletic complex and one of the best in this part of the state.
There are 22,500+ graduates of Greenville High School from 1873 through 2025. There is no end to the connection between our city, our school, and now our new stadium. Green Wave Pride will continue indefinitely.
Now you can be part of history and be a part of the donors’ plaque or book listing that will be noted forever. Anyone wishing to give $10,000 or more should contact the Greenville City Schools phone at 937-548-3185 at the Memorial Hall and ask for the School Treasurer.
For donation information or general questions, please call Jim Sommer 937-423-9372 or Dick Brown 937-423-2306.
