The Friday night lights are bright at South Range’s Rominger Stadium. Football fans are enjoying a new experience after a series of upgrades over the last few years. The work on started in 2017 and then progressed in phases.
This year’s improvements took three months to complete and were done just in time for the Raiders’ first home football game in August.
Finding patience through the progress
“Joe” Dickey Electric was involved from the beginning. Brian Crumbacher, the project manager, did most of the electrical work himself. He says there were some obstacles since the upgrades were done in stages, but everything worked out well.
“There was nothing but the turf field and makeshift bleachers before the work was started. A lot developed over time,” Crumbacher said.
He says the original electrical infrastructure was installed in the first phase of upgrades in 2017, so that made it easier to feed power for the other additions.
There are two new buildings. One has a concession stand and Raider team shop, and the other has restrooms. Overlooking the field is a state-of-the-art plaza where fans can gather to watch the game. Two new ticket booths were installed at the main entrance, and a walkway also runs under the bleachers.
“Every building has its own electrical service. A lot of time went into planning for game day operations. There was no blueprint for this. We had to anticipate where power was going to be needed on game nights,” Crumbacher said.
The community connection
Dickey Electric, along with the other contractors, all donated time for this project. The stadium changes became a reality because of the collective efforts by the community.
“None of this was taxpayer money. It’s all from donations funded through the South Range Athletic Boosters,” Crumbacher said.
Crumbacher’s kids currently attend South Range. Meanwhile, the Dickey family’s ties to the district go back decades.
Joe Dickey Jr. is a 1948 graduate. At 94, he was able to make it to the first home football game to see all the changes for himself. The stadium upgrades mean a lot to him because he was heavily involved with the original school when it was built in North Lima.
“I am so excited with the way our community continues to support our student athletes. It makes it easy for our company to help give them the best experience while attending South Range,” Dickey said.
Dickey Electric is a member contractor of NECA-IBEW Electricians, an association of IBEW Local 64 in Youngstown, IBEW Local 573 in Warren and signatory electrical contractors throughout the Mahoning Valley.