Seacrest Field Celebrates 50 Years

By: Sabrina Ahmed
SAhmed@klkntv.com

Half a century after the stadium first opened, tonight, crowds gathered to celebrate. We talked to former football players and life–long fans. All say they're happy the field is still going strong!

It all started with Northeast and Southeast going head to head.  This week, 50 years after the stadium opened it's doors, both teams played again.  Southeast played last night and Northeast played tonight.

We talked to the northeast players who first stepped out on the field in 1962. 

“Running onto the field for the first time was like running onto the rose bowl,” Jerry Motz said. 

“I remember running onto Seacrest Field and thinking, oh, we really get to play on grass? This was a phenomena that we weren't quite used to,” Bob Parker said. 

Jack Handa said, “You just sort of stop for a second and think, oh my gosh, where am I at?”

The players were recognized at a ceremony that included LPS and the Seacrest family, who donated the stadium so many years ago.  The 50 thousand dollar project is still holding strong today.

“It's good that high school football is still alive here in Lincoln,” Terry Monk said.

Many fans say they've been coming to football games at seacrest for as long as they can remember, and the memories are like they were yesterday.

“After all these years to keep seeing it's still here, and the kids that still play and it's a lot of fun,” Curtis Powers said.

While the fun is a big part, the Seacrest family says they hope the community continues to give back as well.

“And you can give back to the community like the seacrest family has with this stadium,” Jim Seacrest said during the ceremony. 

The players said a lot has changed with high school football since they played years ago.  But one thing that hasn't changed is the excitement in the stadium every Friday night.