Later on today, Saturday, the new football stadium at Demopolis High School will be officially dedicated as Tiger Stadium.

People in Demopolis have long taken pride in its schools and, by association, its sports. Alabama is one of a handful of states where the hometown high school football team carries the weight of civic pride, and from August through November and into the playoffs, in many ways, a community is described by how its football team does.

We hope that you are part of the community who comes out to the new football stadium tonight to help open a new era in the athletics program at Demopolis High School. The facilities rival those of many colleges, and the new tradition that the Demopolis Quarterback Club plans to introduce at Fan Day is something sure to bolster that pride.

Memorial Stadium was the site of Tiger football history, pride and memories. It served the school well, and should always be a part of DHS lore, not just for football, but also for the way it served the DHS band and other high school events.

Tiger Stadium is the next step in the progression of Demopolis High School. Like its predecessor, it will be the site of many Demopolis victories, many Demopolis graduation ceremonies, many school events. It will be where many students see their first football game or pep rally and where they walk that final line in gaining their diploma.

Saturday night’s Fan Day will provide a special ceremony to christen the new stadium and begin a new era in Demopolis High School history. Come out tonight and show your civic pride and spirit and help begin that chapter in bold print.

This is more than a day to open a new stadium. It is your day; it is our day.

It truly is Fan Day.

The gates at the stadium will open at 7 p.m., and the ceremony will begin at 8 p.m.