The new Fireflies’ stadium will open its resources to local high school football teams for Friday night lights.

Chapin will take on AC Flora in the baseball stadium on Oct. 7. “I think it’s going to be exciting to play on a baseball field, and interesting to see how they fit an entire football field in the stadium,” stated Will Register, a senior.

The Pep Club at Chapin High School has big plans for the game. They will be providing 2 to 3 Spirit Buses to take students to the game downtown, and each bus can hold up to 60 people.

The AC Flora Falcons are also a huge rival to the Chapin Eagles. “People will be more hype because it will be a different atmosphere,” said Chase Haywood, co-pep club leader.

However, the stadium hosting games may not be without controversy.

The once quiet area at the former Bull Street health campus in downtown Columbia is being redeveloped into a retail, office and residential area. The existing local residents have to deal with the traffic, litter, and noise commonly associated with baseball games, will now have to deal with high school football games on various Friday nights this fall.

Other issues like parking, safety, and setup are also a concern. The baseball field is said to be fit for a full length football field, however, some students are skeptical as to where families and the student sections will be located. “You have to have yard lines, field goals, and other important features of a football field, so it’s going to be pretty confusing,” said Ella Bishop, a freshman.

The lines of the football field are stretched across the outfield and even the dirt. “It’s not going to hurt way worse if you get tackled on the dirt,” said Chandler Johnson, a senior who is also on the football team.

Overall, the idea of holding high school football games in the Fireflies’ stadium seems like a great way to support the community.