It was a belief handed down from class to class and team to team without anyone questioning the validity of the supposed golden rule over the home of the Bellaire Big Reds.
Until now, that is, and Bellaire Local Schools Superintendent Derrick McAfee discovered a few facts about the allowable use of Nelson Field along the way.
For example, the Big Reds didn’t play all of those Saturday afternoon games because of the folks in the big house up on the hillside – even though they do have the best view – and there’s no Last Will and Testament that regulated high school football permissible only during the day in Bellaire, Ohio.
Now, McAfee did learn there WAS a “Mr. Nelson” who’s a former Bellaire school system superintendent from around the time when the school district bought the land from the Dubois family in 1934, but while the complex bears his surname, the gentleman did not lay down any laws pertaining to game times.
The superintendent also discovered solid logic as to why summer night games are healthier than summer day games.
“There’s not just one reason why this decision has been made,” explained Derrick McAfee, superintendent of Bellaire Local Schools. “Our game schedule begins earlier these days because of our school calendar and that means we need to consider the extreme August heat. Plus, we don’t like being at the OHSAA’s mercy when it comes to getting to play on our own field come playoff time. The lights will give us more options for those games, and to have events like band showcases and evening track meets at the facility.
“And we also had to ask the one question you always have to ask yourself when it comes to decisions about the children, and that’s what’s best for the kids,” he continued. “So, the lights will be going up at some point this summer and the work will be performed by Erb Electric. The cost for the project will be right around $500,000 because the infrastructure does not exist. A new service needs to be installed and the network has to be established. It’s a big job.”
McAfee said 98 percent of the reactions received have been positive, but a number of commenters have insisted on social media the illumination is not permitted.
“The keyboard warriors have really been on top of this announcement, but the fact of the matter is we’ve done extensive research prior to getting into this conversation about the lights. I know some people don’t believe we’ve done that research, but we have,” he insisted. “Plus, I don’t think it was common back in the 1930s for high school football fields to have lights, so I’m guessing lights weren’t an issue when the school system bought this land.
“But I know we’ve believed that narrative for as long as I can remember,” McAfee added. “It’s been community folklore, but now we know the facts and installing lighting was a big decision for the administration and the board members to make.”
