The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Stadium to be formally dedicated Oct. 19
Elyria City Schools formally will dedicate Ely Stadium, 1915 Middle Ave., on Oct. 19 with activities and performances, according to a news release.
The evening’s dedication ceremony is part of Senior Night, which honors senior student athletes in football, the cheer squad and members of the Elyria High School Pioneer Marching Band, the release said.
The dedication coincides with the last home game of the season, against Strongsville High School.
Activities also are designed as a special tribute to the country’s armed forces. Veterans will receive free admission by showing their military credentials.
The pregame and dedication festivities will take place from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Elyria High, 601 Middle Ave., for the annual Tailgate Party Fundraiser, sponsored by the Elyria Citizens Committee for Quality Education.
Food will be served in Elyria High’s dining hall, with Sodexo Foodservice grilling hamburgers with the works, the release said. Sides include homemade macaroni and cheese and potato salad, along with desserts and beverages. Diners can eat in or carry out.
The Pioneer Marching Band will provide entertainment during the tailgate party and during a pregame show.
Special guests include U.S. Olympian and gold medalist Tianna Madison Bartoletta and Lorain County veterans Dana Bowman and Doug Doss.
Bowman, a North Ridgeville native, is a retired sergeant first class with the U.S. Army and a member of the Special Forces and the Army’s elite parachute team, The Golden Knights. He will fly in with a 2,000-squarefoot American flag to honor U.S. veterans, weather permitting. Bowman lost both legs in a training exercise with the Golden Knights in Yuma, Arizona, in 1994 when he collided mid-air with teammate Sgt. Jose Aguillon, while practicing a maneuver they’d nailed dozens of times before, the release said. Aguillon died instantly. Bowman spent months in recovery, and after nine months, he jumped again with the Golden Knights and became the first double amputee to re-enlist with the U.S. Army.
Bowman retired from the U.S. Army in 1996. He’s president and founder of HALO for Freedom Warrior Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to wounded warriors.
Assisting Bowman at the dedication ceremony is Doss, from Elyria High Class of 1981. The former corporal with the U.S. Marine Corps now is a Nordson Corp. supervisor. Doss, a member of the HALO board of directors, was trained in skydiving by Bowman and Golden Knights members.
Madison Bartoletta will join Doss and Bowman on the Mercy Health Field of Ely Stadium.
She first made her mark in track and field at Elyria High as a student athlete, earning multiple team and individual championships, including a record-breaking long jump. Madison Bartoletta graduated in 2003 and attended the University of Tennessee, and continued her stellar athletic career, earning multiple titles and setting new records. She has traveled the world as a professional, earning championships and setting records.
Most notably, Madison Bartoletta is a two-time Olympian with three gold medals. She is training for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Toyko.
First Student shuttles will begin running from Elyria High to Ely Stadium at 4:30 p.m., continuously throughout the night until all fans are returned to their vehicles. Fans also may catch a ride to the game on the Lorain County Transit Trolley, which will loop between Elyria High and Ely Stadium from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The Trolley and shuttles can be picked up at Elyria High, off West Avenue.
Purchase tailgate party tickets in advance at $10 each by calling 440-2848203 or at the door Oct. 19.
Timeline for the dedication celebration:
• 4:30 p.m.: Stadium gates open
• 5:30 p.m.: Senior night recognition ceremony
• 5:50 p.m.: Elyria High Pioneer Marching Band takes the field for pregame show
• 6:30 p.m.: Dedication ceremony begins. Fans should take seats by 6:15 p.m.
• 7 p.m.: Elyria High Pioneers take on Strongsville for the last home game of the season