Four years ago when Spanish Fort High School started a football program, the coaches knew the next few seasons would be very difficult.

The first few seasons the team played all of its home games in stadiums at Fairhope, Daphne, Foley or other various places. And while the team was thankful for the opportunity, it was still difficult to deal with.

Four years may not seem like a long time to wait for your own stadium but it was difficult for the Toros to travel to other stadiums and always have a little more work to do.

“We have had to be very organized and prepared to play at other stadiums,” Spanish Fort head coach and athletic director Bryant Vincent said. “I would have to go to the stadiums and see where we would dress and be at halftime. I would have to see where our opponents would dress and be at halftime as well and coordinate that with the other teams.”

This fall the Toros will have something they have never had before: their own home field.

Spanish Fort High School celebrated the opening of its new stadium at its annual Spring Game. The turnout and support from the community couldn’t have been better. Even when the Toros were traveling to different stadiums to play “home” games the stands never lacked Toros supporters. So when the opening of the stadium came the stands were packed.

Spanish Fort will no longer have to travel and with state of the art facilities on campus why would they want to? Coaches and players are excited and ready to start playing in their new stadium.

“We are all excited about playing in our own stadium,” Vincent said. “It is a facility that we are all very proud of.”

So how will a new home stadium affect the players and how they perform? The players and coaches are very excited and can’t wait to get out onto their new field. The school board, community, and staff have been supportive and are just as excited to see their Toros take the field for the time at Spanish Fort High School’s campus.

“I think it will be a huge morale booster for our players, school, and community,” Vincent said of the new stadium. “It is something that we have been looking forward to for a long time.”

For Spanish Fort, the new stadium will be more than just a place to play, it’s a place to call home.