Would lights at Meade Stadium draw a bigger crowd?

by Ryan D. Murray

 

 

KINGSTON – URI’s Meade Stadium, where the football team plays its home games, has been without lights since it opened back in 1928.

 

While many of the facilities on the Kingston campus have undergone some sort of renovation, the Rams football field has yet to add lights to their facility, barring them from holding any night games at the stadium.

 

“Not a lot of players get an opportunity to play under the lights after high school, so that would be a cool experience for sure,” Rams wide receiver Robbie Jackson said.

 

According to Jackson, the Rams have played under the lights previously on road games, and he says at least a couple players have expressed their desire to play under the lights at Meade Stadium.

 

Jackson thinks more people would attend the games if they were played at night and that it would become a social event.

 

Director of Athletics Thorr Bjorn thinks the next two things the Athletic Department has to work on are, getting the lights done and getting artificial turf on the field. He thinks both of those projects will take a facility that is rarely used, and turn it into a facility that is used often.

 

According to Bjorn, it will also give the university a chance to host high school championships.

 

“It’s a great marketing tool to bring different high schools for Super Bowls, for lacrosse championships, soccer championships, so that is all part of our Athletic Department master plan,” Bjorn said.

 

Bjorn also thinks that night games would attract more students, because students at URI like to sleep in on Saturdays, and families have their own children’s games to attend during the day.

 

“If all of a sudden we start playing 6 o'clock games, for example, I think that’s a perfect time,” Bjorn said. “You start when it’s light out, you finish when it's dark, people still get home at a reasonable time, and they can take care of all the other things they have to do earlier in the day.”

 

Unless the Athletics Department can get a donor sooner, Bjorn thinks it will be a few years before we see lights installed at the stadium.