Lowrey Field at PlainsCapital Park officially open for business

LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - The public got their first look at the completed Lowrey Field on Sunday. Crowds toured the facilities, anticipating the atmosphere on the first game day. It was a special moment for the people who helped make it happen.

"Today I can just tell you is a phenomenal day," said Lubbock ISD superintendent Berhl Robertson, Jr. "The crowd's been great, the facility's in great shape and it's really something I think our community can be super, super proud of."

Robertson admitted it was a long process and having the stadium finally completed is surreal. He is confident that the stadium's impact will reach beyond the playing surface.

"Athletics is a huge, important program for us because it keeps kids in school. It keeps them engaged, keeps them excited. I don't know where we'd be in public education today without those kind of extracurricular events," he said. "I can't wait for Thursday night for the first football game because it's a fabulous facility, and at the end of the day for me, it's about community - and more important - it's about our kids. "

The new stadium boasts a seating capacity of 8,500, including more than 70 ADA seats and companion seats. A total of 2.25 miles of aluminum bleacher seating was used with more than 17.5 million pounds of concrete - and none of it could have been done without community support.

"It's important that we touched every campus," said 2020 Bond Campaign Co-Chair Mitch Watson. "From every locker room to every cafeteria to every auditorium, there's just a lot of needs and we didn't want to focus on any one in particular but hit every area."

Watson was astounded by Sunday's final product.

"There's really nobody that I've seen that has a stadium this pretty and this functional. It's exciting."

Among those in attendance were football players from LISD teams and they can't wait to start playing.

"I think it's just kind of a cool experience having all this stuff. It's going to bring more people out to the games that want to support us. I think it'll be good for bringing fans out here and us using this stuff, like the locker rooms are awesome," said Monterey High School Senior Quarterback Camden Arnold. "I'm going to have butterflies in my stomach first game, being first game with a new stadium... It's going to be nerve wracking but at the same time it's going to be awesome. I can't wait."

The first official game will be this Thursday when Coronado High School plays Monterey at 7:30 p.m.

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