East Aurora students, staff and alumni are invited to gather with community members one last time at Roy E. Davis Stadium for a one-hour closing ceremony that starts at 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 30. The gates will open for the free ceremony at 7:30 p.m. The ceremony will feature music, fireworks, refreshments, and an opportunity to view artist renderings of the future stadium.

The East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education recently approved demolishing the stadium, field and track this summer as part of major renovations to the East Aurora High School campus. The new stadium will feature synthetic field turf and an eight-lane track.

The closing program will begin with presentations from East Aurora High School head football coach Kurt Becker and East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education President Annette Johnson, who are both East Aurora High School alumni.

At the ceremony, artist renderings of the new field will be available for the public to view. There will also be kids’ games and face painting available. The public will be invited to take home a piece of the field that has hosted many athletic events, band concerts, and decades of high school graduations.

At about 9 p.m., the program will end with the Marching Tomcats playing “Wave the Flag”. The flags will then be lowered and the stadium lights will be dimmed for the last time.

Dennis Renner, East Aurora High School assistant principal of athletics, said the event is a rare chance to share memories and the proud history of the stadium.

“The flags will be lowered and the lights will dim, and we’ll say goodbye to the old and welcome to the new,” he said.

Boys Football, Soccer to Play Elsewhere in 2016-17

During the construction, the boys soccer and boys football teams will play their “home” games at outside venues.

The boys soccer team will play home games at the Fox Valley Park District’s Stuart Sports Complex near Route 30 and Griffin Drive in Montgomery.

The boys football team will play homes games at Aurora Christian High School, 2255 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora. The rivalry game versus West Aurora High School will be played at West Aurora High School in 2016, then return to the new East Aurora stadium in 2017.

The full East Aurora fall sports schedule can be found at: http://il.8to18.com/EAHS

SOURCE: East Aurora School District 131 news release