The makeover of Wayne Jamison Field continued Wednesday morning. This time, however, the project in question only took several hours to complete and didn’t cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

That doesn’t mean what took place won’t be noticeable – particularly for those entering the field, peering over from Johnson Avenue and all those on the visitors’ side of the field. Starting yesterday morning and finishing up early in the afternoon, the parents of Bridgeport High School football Coach Josh Nicewarner – Phil and Ann Nicewarner – braved the sun along with Pete Leuliette to get the job done.

 

“I think it looks great,” said Travis Jones, who heads up the Friends of Bridgeport Football and also doubles as the Voice of the Indians on Friday night’s radio broadcasts.

 

What looks great is a new wall, or sideline graphic banner. The banner literally stretches from the bottom row of the bleachers to the ground and from one side of the main bleachers to the other. The primarily red banners have the word “Bridgeport” on them and also have arrowheads as well. The other dominant color is white with black accents.

 

“I’m all about bells and whistles. Any time I see a flat wall space at a sporting venue I think you should have some type of graphic on it,” Jones laughed. “I actually thought something might look good there a few years ago once the new bleachers were put in. I thought a touch of color at the bottom would really spruce up the stadium.”

 

Of course wanting to do something and knowing what to do are two different animals. And when you throw in the funds to cover the cost of whatever springs forth from that initial thought, getting from that thought to fruition of it isn’t necessarily easy.

 

Jones, however, got his first break at yet another one of his gigs – the voice of the Fairmont State University football team. While covering a game recently at Notre Dame College with FSU, Jones noticed the printed mesh-type banners surrounding the stadium.

 

“Almost every inch of their fence line was covered and it looked pretty nice,” said Jones. “I talked with their athletic director about it and he gave me the name of the company out of Columbus and from that point we moved ahead.”

 

Jones was able to contact the company and get a price figured out. Although not expensive in comparison to the near $1 million in upgrades done this summer, for a Friends of Bridgeport Football project it was going to take some effort. Jones said it is a $3,500 project.

 

“We figured we could raise the funds and this was a project that we wanted to do to spruce up the facility for football, soccer, track and everyone that uses the field,” said Jones. “It’s something that’s been in the works since last football season.”

 

That, of course, led to the funds being raised. Jones said the bulk of the money that was needed came from Josh Nicewarner’s First-Ever Youth Football Camp that was held this summer.

 

“We’re not a capital funds organization so we won’t be doing any building or remodeling. We’re like a slush fund for the program to buy ancillary items throughout the season and we are hoping this is a one-time expenditure,” said Jones.

 

In order to make the banner last, it will be taken down annually. Jones said once the fall sports season is complete the banner will be rolled up and put in storage before being re-installed the following August.

 

“This shows off the logo and the colors and it also shows off the brand of Bridgeport athletics,” said Jones. “I really think it adds a nice pop of color to the stadium and I’m excited to hear feedback.”

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Phil and Ann Nicewarner installing the banner Wednesday morning, while the bottom photo shows the bottom part of the bleachers on the home field that were covered with the new banner.