At long last, the most important room in the McLean High School stadium was given a massive upgrade, and no, it’s not the locker rooms.
Over the summer, McLean’s stadium received a brand new stadium bathroom building. Funded by Fairfax County, the renovated facilities have proven to be a much better alternative compared to previous years.
“Obviously this is a huge upgrade for our stadium, it’s going to make the experience better,” said Greg Miller, Director of Student Activities.
Fans of the game enjoyed the new amenities of the bathrooms during Thursday’s Varsity football season opener against the Chantilly Chargers. The building also adds a new aesthetic to the modern design of the stadium.
“The new bathrooms are so much cleaner and way more efficient compared to last year,” senior Hudson Chua said. “I spent so much less time waiting to use the restroom compared to previous games I’ve attended, I got to see more of the game for the first time.”
Not just for fans of the Highlanders, but athletes across all of McLean’s sports have found the bathrooms to be very beneficial.
“I’ve loved having the new bathrooms at practice during the week,” said senior Steven Conroy, one of McLean’s varsity wide receivers. “It’s very convenient and saves us a lot of hassle from going all the way back to the locker room.”
Additionally, in a more fun improvement, the field also received new stadium lights, something that has long awaited McLean High School.
“I’ve been at this school for around a decade, and this is the first time we’ve gotten lighting upgrades in 20 years,” Miller said. “The new lights are fun, they can do a lot of things that the old fixtures couldn’t.”
The new stadium lights aren’t just practical for illuminating the field for Friday night lights, they also feature new light up features; boldly flashing when every McLean scores. In addition, they emit a striking red light, McLean’s signature color, at the base of each structure to give an incredible look to the stadium once the sun sets.
“It’s given a new meaning to Friday Night Lights,” Conroy said. “It’s cool to look up and know those lights are flashing for us.”
The stadium will continue to be a much more enjoyable and entertaining experience for fans. The Highlanders will face off against the Washington-Liberty Generals on Friday night, another opportunity for McLean’s stadium to show off its bold new features.
“Overall, the two new features just make our stadium look and feel much nicer,” Miller said. “Both the lights and bathrooms are bringing a new wanted energy to our games every night.”
