After 2 years without, light towers return to Northgate’s stadium

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, July 12, 2019 | 12:30 AM

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Northgate football coach Michael Fulmore was headed home after a summer workout when something high in the Bellevue sky grabbed his attention.

For the first time in two years, there were light towers above Alumni Field.

“I was driving down the street and could see them from the main avenue,” said Fulmore, who stopped and took pictures Wednesday. “I whipped in there to check them out. They’re pretty nice. We’re excited.”

The football stadium’s old telephone pole-style towers were deemed unsafe and taken down in 2017 after 71 years, forcing Northgate to shift its home games last season to Saturday afternoons.

With the new towers in place, the Flames will return to Fridays.

“There’s nothing like Friday night football,” said Fulmore, who’s entering his second season as coach. “The attendance was down at the field on Saturday afternoon. It’s hot. It’s just not the same.”

Northgate played its 2017 season at J.C. Stone Field in North Park.

Alumni Field, tucked between houses in Bellevue, also had its natural-grass surface regraded this summer. The Flames won’t start the season there but could return to their home turf by late September.

“On Friday nights, families come home, have dinner out on the avenue and walk over to the field,” Fulmore said. “The stadium plays such a big role in the Bellevue-Avalon community.”

Lights are officially back today! ?? ? pic.twitter.com/IE6nEd4yYr

— Coach Michael Fulmore (@michaelfulmore6) July 11, 2019

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Northgate