NEWPORT, Ky. — Newport High School's football stadium won't be able to open "until at least the end of October," according to a press release from the district.
The renovation construction schedule, a first-phase, $3 million investment, means the work needed on the stadium won't be done in time for the Wildcats to start their football season in the stadium.
"We wanted to get this word out to the public as soon as we learned of the delay," Tony Watts, superintendent of Newport Independent Schools, said in a press release. "The company that will install our bleachers is currently installing new bleachers at Lloyd High School and they are still working there. So that is going to put us two months behind and our stadium won't likely be ready until the end of October."
The news came as a let-down for Kieth Salter who's followed the program for more than five decades.
"It's a little disappointing for the kids," Salter said. "Especially for your senior ball players, and you've worked for four years in the program to have a chance to play on your home field."
The district said it hopes the stadium could be ready to host if the Wildcats make the playoffs and get a home game.
In the meantime, the team will practice on the baseball field behind the high school and the two home games the Wildcats were scheduled to host in 2023 will instead be held at Bellevue High School and Lloyd High School in Erlanger.
Newport High Head Football Coach Ryan Hahn said the inconvenience of practicing on the baseball field and not having home games has served as a lesson for the kids under his instruction: life, like football, is about overcoming adversity.
"We have to go on the road for every game? Fine," Hahn said. "We'll try to beat you at your place."
Hahn said, if the district's plan to have a stadium ready by playoff time comes to fruition, a potential playoff appearance becomes much more appealing for the team.
"To host or play a playoff game here, for a playoff game, I think that would be unreal for these kids. I don't even know how they would react. I don't even know how I would react."
The existing stadium, built in 1937, failed a building inspection in 2022 that forced the Wildcats to play and practice at Holmes High School in Covington, instead of their own turf, the district said.
Demolition began on May 4 and was expected to be finished in four to six weeks. The goal for completed renovations was slated for late September or early October, said Dennis Maines, director of facilities and transportation at the district, at the time construction began.
Next steps for the renovation are still to be announced later, according to Newport Independent Schools. That second phase will include building locker rooms, restrooms, a concession stand and installing new field lighting.
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