Lubbock ISD installed new lights at its football stadium. What other upgrades could be in the future?
The spotlight on high school football has never been brighter at Lowrey Field. Literally.
Lubbock ISD installed new LED lights at PlainsCapital Park, the district's venue for football, soccer and track. The project took about three weeks and was completed in late May, in time for use at Lubbock Matadors soccer games over the summer.
LISD athletic director Mike Meeks said the lights upgrade was long overdue. He said the previous lights had been in place before he started in the administrative department in 2013.
"There's been a need for new lights at Lowrey Field for years," Meeks said. "… Lowrey's not great to take pictures or have sports photography because the lighting is not great for photography. Not only is it not great for photography, but we've had a very dark, dim venue compared to other schools. With the progress with the venues that our kids participate in, we go from one venue to another and the LED lights are popular. They're new. There's a savings involved there, on the financial side.
"It was just a great opportunity with what we had going on in our district to make an upgrade with our lights."
Information on the lumen count was unavailable, but Meeks said the new lights make a "big difference." In addition to the brightness upgrade, the lights have the ability to flash and change colors, keeping up with a recent trend in athletics. Meeks said the special effects will be brief and are currently planned for the end of the national anthem, teams' pregame entrance and after touchdowns.
The lights are the latest improvement to Lowrey Field, following new turf and track installations prior to the 2023-24 school year. Meeks said the athletics department regularly evaluates facility needs around the district. Although there are no immediate plans for further upgrades, Meeks said the video display board would likely be next on the list.
"We've got the turf taken care of," Meeks said. "We've got new lights. That takes care of the operations to play the game, so that's what's most important right now."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lowrey Field/PlainsCapital Park gets new lights ahead of 2025 season
Category: General Sports
