Fox High School’s Gerald O’Connor Stadium will soon be brightened up.
The Fox C-6 Board of Education voted unanimously on Feb. 4 to pay Ultra Electric Inc. of St. Louis $274,615 to install new stadium lights. The company submitted the lowest of three bids, according to board documents.
Tammy Cardona, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said the district had budgeted $500,000 on the lighting project.
“We will finally be able to give our kids and community a 21st century athletic experience,” Superintendent Paul Fregeau said. “It gives those kids that extra little neat experience while they are in high school to make it even more memorable.”
Fox High activities director Scott Leuthauser said the project is expected to start in April or May due to activities already scheduled at the stadium.
He said on Feb. 13 that the materials will take four to five weeks to be delivered, and the installation is expected to take four to five weeks to complete.
Leuthauser also said the high school does not have a record of how old the current stadium lights are, but he believes they are at least 41 years old.
He said the current lights show low readings for brightness, which negatively affects the viewing of events in the stadium and could cause safety concerns.
“The new lighting project will increase light intensity, distribution and interactions with the surface,” Leuthauser said. “This will create a safer and more presentable environment for this area during the night.”
According to board documents, Ultra Electric will install 60 LED light fixtures in the stadium and replace four light poles. The company will also put two security lights on each pole, and the system includes a wireless system to control the lights.
“At Fox football field right now, they have to go to each pole to turn on the lights,” Fregeau told the board. “This will all be turned on from one switch.”
Seckman High School activities director Tracy Schmidt, who has been named the district’s chief operating officer for next school year, told the board that Ultra Electric also will install four 81-foot poles with lights hung on the poles at 70 feet high.
Board documents also show the new lighting system will have other features.
“You can change the light colors, or sync the lights to music,” Cardona told the board.