At its new home stadium, the North Baltimore football team gets its first workout in front of the community Friday. (Scott Ferguson)
Bowling Green State University tight end Levi Gazarek, a former North Baltimore quarterback, speaks during the ceremony Friday recognizing his alma mater’s new football stadium. (Scott Ferguson)
North Baltimore football coach Wade Ishmael walks through the school’s new football stadium concourse. (Jordan Ferguson)
One of two new donated cement tigers at the entrance to North Baltimore’s new football stadium. (J. Patrick Eaken/Sentinel-Tribune)
At its new home stadium, the North Baltimore football team gets its first workout in front of the community Friday. (Scott Ferguson)
NORTH BALTIMORE — Friday evening, the North Baltimore football team took its final bus ride to a home football game.
Last year, the Tigers played home games in Findlay, but this year a sports complex has been completed on the Tiger Drive campus, costing about $4 million to be paid off in low interest loans.
The athletic campus includes a football stadium with an all-weather track, baseball field, and softball field.
“This is awesome,” said NB football coach Wade Ishmael. “To be able to be at the school and have the complex that we have that the school board and all the administration has put together for us.”
Friday evening’s celebration began with the football team and coaches arriving on a school bus, just as they had for home games in Findlay last year.
“We kind of wanted to do something special for the kids, so we had them get off the bus and have the crowd around them. We’ve got new warm-ups to get on and off the bus with, so they looked the part,” Ishmael continued.
“It’s amazing. The support we are getting this year and we’re starting to get more and more every year. The kids deserve what they are getting right now. They deserve to be getting the most support that they can get.”
Ishmael believes the new stadium will help jumpstart the football program. The stadium replaces the park in town that the team played at for approximately three-quarters of a century.
“I think it will (help the program),” Ishmael said. “They are getting shown that there is going to be a little more money put into the program. This is one of the nicer fields that we are probably going to play on all year long, and it will be our field.”
Real locker rooms
In addition, there is a 120,000 square foot indoor athletic facility next door with volleyball courts, a golf simulator, baseball cages, locker rooms, and space for the football team to practice indoors when necessary. Across from the stadium is a golf chipping green spread out on artificial turf.
“We used to use the shelter house (for a locker room),” Ishmael said. “Now we use the locker room right here beside the field. There are score clocks, there are play clocks on the field, a new scoreboard, a sound system, the lights are state of the art, so everything is here.”
Over 300 people arrived Friday night for the stadium kickoff event, walking past two donated cement tigers at the stadium entrance. The band, cheerleaders, and baton twirlers took over the event at the stadium while the football team went through light workouts.
The celebration included a hot dog giveaway and sales of North Baltimore athletics merchandising gear.
In attendance was former North Baltimore standout quarterback Levi Gazarek, now a starting tight end for the Bowling Green State University football team.
“I think it’s definitely a great opportunity for the kids and community to be able to play in a great facility like this,” Gazarek said.
“You know, I loved playing down at the park, but this place, once you see it and see how everything is close together. You got football, baseball, softball, and you’ve got the gym right over there. It is beautiful.”
Gazarek says he believes the facility generates a “little bit of a college atmosphere,” something that did not exist when he played for NB.
Creative financing
Superintendent Ryan Delaney said it took creative financing to get the complex built.
“The last two years, at the beginning of 2019, we thought we had a beautiful baseball-softball complex for the community,” Delaney said.
“We did not have a track or a football field, so we decided let’s try to find some ways to do it, and we made it happen. We didn’t up taxes, we didn’t put a levy on, we spent the money for the kids, and it is all paid off tonight.”
Athletic Boosters President Jeff Long, whose son Lucas Long is a freshman quarterback, added, “The layout is really nice for a school of our size.
“I’m really, really impressed and I think they did a really good job with it. We can always be better, but this is nice for North Baltimore High School.”
The former stadium at the park in town has been razed with housing taking its place.
“It was a great place, but they took it down and built some houses there, so hopefully we get some new community members moving in,” Delaney said.
“It was a great place to play, but obviously we have two different situations here — new bleachers, new field. The park bleachers were getting old, so we thought it is probably a good idea to throw all that out and make this a brand-new place.”
The Tigers open the season at Vanlue (Aug. 18) and at Hardin Northern (Aug. 25) before the first game in the new stadium, hosting Elgin on Sept. 1.
NB has left the Blanchard Valley Conference and will play its first season in the Northwest Central Conference for all sports.
“We start in a brand-new conference this year, the NWCC, so coincidentally our new stadium opened up the same time we started a new conference,” Delaney said.
“We have big numbers this year — we went from 16 (football players) last year to 24, 25 this year. Football numbers are up, so we are going to ride this wave while we can.
“We’re starting new things for everybody. It’s a new way of pushing everything, and the community has been here offering their support. We’ve never had a track or a big stadium like this, or anything like it,” Delaney continued.
Ishmael added, “Hopefully it is going to be a good season, the kids have fun, and we start off on the right foot in this new league.”
Delaney recalled in 2014, soon after the new middle school and high school was built, that the adjacent land where the athletic facilities are now located was nothing but “dirt.” He believes the school has come a long way since.
“The community has been great,” Delaney said. “People always tell me, ‘Hey, where is North Baltimore located?’ My answer is, ‘Right next to heaven.’”
