Sports
Golden Rockets and ESPN “Rise Up” Unveil Renovated Stadium
By: Kristen Walters
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The Wellston Golden Rockets were in need of some new athletic facilities. Their weight room, locker room, equipment room were all in bad shape. There were leaks in the roof, everything seemed to be dirty, beaten down, and very outdated. And, as for the football field? With no way of watering it due to the lack of a sprinkler system and a broken rain drain, it was extremely torn up by the end of the season.
But, last May, Wellston high school found out the Golden Rockets would be receiving a helping hand in renovating some of their facilities… from none other than ESPN “Rise Up.”
The ESPN series “Rise Up” can be described as an “extreme makeover” for run-down athletic facilities. Last year, they featured one school in New Orleans that needed repairs after taking some hard hits from hurricane Katrina.
This year, the “Rise Up” series chose four schools to renovate, and Wellston High School was one of them. The dream-come-true started for the Rockets when school board member, Gretchen Crabtree, submitted an application for the school. It all became surreal when at the end of the school year, former NFL player, and Host of the ESPN “Rise Up” series, Chris Spielman, showed up in Wellston.
Spielman and an ESPN crew announced that Wellston High School had been selected for the series, and their athletic facility face-lift would start that very summer. And, Spielman wasn’t the only familiar face to visit the Golden Rockets. After the assembly and before the construction began, former buckeye and NFL great, Eddie George, came by to inspect the facilities and even lift weights with the Golden Rocket football players.
Over the summer, BrenMar Construction of Jackson, donated its time and handled all of the renovations. After about a month of constructions, and 71 days after the announcement, the revamped athletic facilities were ready to be revealed.
Approximately 2000 fans and supporters of Wellston gathered at Wellston’s football stadium for the reveal the first week of August. Coaches, players, fans, and community members were blown away at the transformation.
BrenMar construction made over the weight room, locker room, coaches offices, and equipment room. Two “smart boards” were installed those facilities, and a brand new scouting system. Other renovations were done to the field and the stadium, too. The stadium no longer has gravel around the field, instead a paved walk way for fans to roam around on. And, the football field has a new sod surface, and working watering system.
ESPN “Rise Up” was there to document all aspects of the process including the announcement, the construction, and the reveal. The hour-long Wellston episode of “Rise Up” is scheduled to air on Tuesday, September 13.
The Golden Rockets will step onto their new field for the first time tonight against Gallia Academy. To see what fans and other community members have to say about the transformation, tune into Gridiron Glory tonight at 11:30 p.m. on WOUB.