HOLLAND, Mich. — For more than a century, Holland High School has fielded a football team, but never a home game on campus. That’s about to change with the construction of a new stadium.
“We found records dating all the way back to 1898 of us having a football team, but never having played a game on campus,” said Holland Public Schools Athletic Director Blake Muller.
WATCH: New stadium to bring first-ever on-campus football games to Holland Public Schools
Currently, the team plays home games at Hope College. The high school’s existing field has long been used for practices, though student-athletes say it is far from ideal.
“It’s not the best field, as you can see with all the holes, but I mean, we make it work,” said sophomore quarterback Eli Wolters.
A community-approved millage will fund new artificial turf, a home grandstand, updated bleachers, and renovations to adjacent softball and baseball fields.
“Playing with that Holland ‘H’ in the middle is just going to feel so amazing, and walking out through the gates of Holland High is just going to feel different,” Wolters said. "It's going to feel a lot better."
Muller said the grandstand will be built on the west side of the field, and the softball diamond will be slightly rotated to accommodate the changes.
The upgrades will benefit more than football. “It benefits a couple other sports, baseball, softball, track and field, and then also our marching band too,” Muller said.
Freshman clarinetist Sophie Marroquin-Castillo said she is eager for the marching band to perform in the new stadium.
“Oh, my goodness, I was so excited,” she said. “What I’m most looking forward to is just being able to see the smiles on everybody’s faces for our new field.”
The renovations will account for about half of the $49 million generated by the millage. Construction is scheduled to begin in early June, after baseball and softball seasons end.
“Planning on having home games for [baseball and softball] on their new artificial turf fields next spring, and then football the following fall of August ’27,” Muller said.
Wolters said the new stadium will boost attendance and morale.
“We’re going to have so many more people at the games,” he said. “There’s going to be such a good environment around, and it’s just really amazing. It’s going to make our team play better.”
Marroquin-Castillo added the change will symbolize the school’s spirit.
“It’ll have meaning to show that we, the Dutch, are strong and we have a lot of pride in what we do and everything that we do,” she said.
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