YATES CENTER — Dozens of volunteers and Yates Center High School students feverishly worked to bring DeLay Stadium back to her former glory Tuesday.
The stadium will host its first high school sponsored event in nearly 20 years at Friday night’s football jamboree as part of Yates Center’s sesquicentennial celebration, inspiring many citizens to roll up their sleeves and do what they can to bring DeLay Stadium back to life.
“It doesn’t get used a lot and it has some history behind it,” Yates Center football coach Ryan Panko said. “We’ve only been using the current stadium since 2006. There was a time when the community was thinking about selling that old stadium and we convinced them it still has some life in it.”
DeLay Stadium began as a Work Progress Administration project as part of President Franklin R. Roosevelt’s “Brand New Deal” initiative creating jobs during the Great Depression. Once completed, the stadium hosted football games as well as several other city activities for more than 60 years.
While preparing the grounds, coaches traded stories of dressing out in the Yates Center swimming pool locker rooms and various other quirks associated with the facility.
“It’s really great to see the kids coming out and helping with this project,” said Woodson County Historical Society board member Suzie Schaffer, whose husband, Ron, serves this, everybody pitching in and helping, it makes you feel better about leaving it to these kids. We’re not going to be around forever. This is a historic building.”
Schaffer said the Woodson Historical Society conceived the idea of preparing DeLay Stadium for the jamboree more than a year ago. The effort gained traction when Yates Center football coach Ryan Panko hopped on the bandwagon.
Initially believing he bit off a bit more than he could chew, DeLay said the facility required new paint, debris removal and significant landscaping to bring it up to high school football standards. The ensuing response from the community and his players Tuesday has relieved his anxieties.
“It’s going to be a throwback to the old days,” Panko said. “It’s pretty neat. The football players are going to rededicate the stadium to Mr. Calvin DeLay, the one who saw that stadium got finished. It’s going to be a pretty cool time.”
Although having to put in a bit of sweat equity before taking the field, Yates Center senior football player Blake Morrison said he is excited his team will be the first Wildcats running onto the field of DeLay Stadium in 19 years and walking the same path previous Wildcats walked for decades.
“I’ve wanted to do this since I was a freshman,” Morrison said. “Just go over there and play. Even though it needs a new scoreboard and lights, it’s going to be awesome.”
