Jesuit opens new stadium with victory over St. Thomas

By Kyle Price
Magis staff writer


On Friday, September 10th of 2004, the annual Jesuit vs. St. Thomas game ended in a Jesuit victory with a score of 31 to 7.
But for Jesuit this was much more than just a football game. It was an opening of the school’s new stadium.
After groundbreaking in mid-March the stadium is finally open and ready for use. Friday night’s game was the first home game against the Eagles since 1996, and Jesuit fans showed their support as an enormous crowd showed up for the game, including many alumni. And with an increased seating capacity of 5,000, there were seats for almost everyone at the game.
Before the start of the game Father Lahart blessed and dedicated the new stadium, an event that has become tradition with the opening of any new campus building. An alumnus from Strake, now a member of the city council, read a proclamation from the city council declaring Friday as Crusader Stadium Day.
During the game, fans cheered on the Crusaders as they started in a winning position and never lost the lead. Quite a nice way to start off on a new field.
The new stadium will be a tremendous benefit to the football teams who join the rest of the school’s athletic teams in UIL competitions as a member of district 19-5A.
Also benefiting from the stadium will be the schools soccer, lacrosse, and track and field teams.