- The new Cardinal Stadium cost $5.3 million.
- The new stadium will be on campus.
- The new stadium will have turf instead of grass.
- Fruth Field will now be used by other groups.
The Fond du Lac Cardinals are playing this football season in a brand new $5.3 million football stadium.
“It’s pretty nice,” senior Herb Broomfield said. “I just wish we could have like, got it earlier so we could, you know, play longer.”
Before Cardinal Stadium, the team played games on Fruth Field—which is about three miles away from the school. Now, they’ll play on campus.
“We walk right out of the building, walk straight to the field, and don't have to take a bus all the way to Fruth, so that's pretty nice,” Broomfield said.
Broomfield said this will be great for home games.
“It, like, plays a big role in… getting, like, the student section active with all the other people here,” Broomfield said.
The new field is turf, instead of grass, which will allow the team to play more easily in the rain without worrying about slipping in the mud.
“I liked turf a lot better,” senior Max Mengel said. “Grass gets you dirty and all turf keeps your cleats clean.”
The new stadium also brings a new meaning to “friday night lights” with a colorful lights that can be timed to music.
But what will happen to Fruth Field now that it is no longer the home of the Fondy Cardinals?
“We do have some, some organizations that are going to use it. . . our junior Football League, they're going to be able to use it,” school board president Todd Schreiter said. “We're going to try to open up the track for people to be able to walk on it.”
Coach Sam Plucker says despite the cardinals’ recent losses, the field is a big plus for the team.
“I wish we started the first few games with better play but as far as a facility, it’s the best I've seen,” Plucker said.
The team said that they hope to make up for these losses with a triumphant return.
