Cardinal Newman will christen the St. Sebastian Stadium given by the Robert Leichtle Family Friday, August 19 against Florence Christian.
The Cardinal Newman Cardinals open the 2016 football season with a home game against Florence Christian. While Cardinals’ fans are excited about the start of another football season, they have another reason to be excited about the start of this season.
Last January, Cardinal Newman opened a new school on Alpine Road. Along with the new school came new athletic facilities, including a new football stadium.
St. Sebastian Stadium, named after the patron saint of athletes, will be the new home for Cardinal Newman football and boys’ and girls’ soccer.
The new football facility includes a practice field, a field house housing locker rooms and a weight room, a canteen, and restrooms.
“It will definitely be a different environment,” Cardinal Newman coach Doug Dutton said, “There is an opportunity for more people to come out and watch our game. Parking is a lot easier. The experience should be a little smoother overall for the fans.”
The practice field sits next to Cardinal Newman’s new stadium.
Dutton, who enters his second season as Cardinals’ head coach, says while he is anxious about preparing his team for Florence Christian, he is also nervous about making sure the logistics of game day go according to plan. He says he has worked on a new routine for his players beginning with the pre-game meal all the way up to kickoff.
The second-year head coach says athletic director Will Eudy, assistant athletic director Phillip Deter, and members of the booster club have spent months organizing other game day plans, from parking before games to the concession stands during the games to post-game traffic.
While Dutton appreciates the character of George Watson field, the Cardinals’ previous home for many years, he says the new football facility is more convenient and offers more room for the team and fans.
So far during fall camp, he says his young team has gotten better.
Dutton said, “It’s always nice to open at home. I know the community is super excited about it. We’re hoping to give them a good showing.”
The Nieri Family Field House will house locker rooms and the weight room.
Cardinal Newman will also be sporting new home and away jerseys in 2016 from Under Armour.
Cardinal Newman will also be sporting new home and away jerseys from Under Armour.
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