On Oct. 12, 2023, the Boone County Board of Education gave the green light to a new construction project at Boone County High School: to replace the existing stadium lighting with a new LED system to improve the experience.
Students have mostly been impressed with the new lights.
“The lights really add to the atmosphere,” junior soccer player Harry Patterson said.
“(The lights) were pretty fun,” said senior Sofia Jordan Rondon, a member of the dance team. “It makes the games more interesting and more enjoyable.”
These aren’t just new lights; they are more than that. They have been programmed to do various effects, some of which are synched to music.
When students score or win, they get a mini celebration where the lights flicker around, with music playing in the background.
“The new lights are great when playing soccer, and when scoring a goal, the lighting sequence is nice,” sophomore soccer player Miguel Sanchez said.
Junior Sam Crow is on the dance team, and she has noticed how the lights improve the experience.
“The new lights on the football field have been an overall joy to have,” Crow said. “They really elevated the hopes of the crowd, and when the lights flash, it almost feels like they’re cheering too. It also makes dancing a lot more fun when the lights are going wild.¨
Athletic director Lance Melching said that students enjoy the new lighting, and that some told him it makes them feel like they are at a college stadium.
Melching said that the benefits are more than just a better experience. He said the new lights contribute to less pollution in the atmosphere since they are more energy efficient and that they should cost the district less to operate.
The project was expected to cost $572,500 according to a BG1 form approved by the Board of Education.
That may sound expensive, but the cost included removal of the old lights, labor, equipment, raw materials, planning, permits, regulations, and other charges.
Also, the old lights had issues and needed to be replaced, according to Melching.
He said they had to be serviced several times a month during the fall season because of the number of lights that would go out over a few weeks.
During a football game in 2022 between Boone and Scott, two of the light towers stopped working, so the game had to be postponed to the next morning.
Construction began in the winter of 2024-2025, but was delayed by heavy snowfall in January 2025. The project was completed in spring of 2025, just in time for home tracks meet.
