Commissioner Wilson: ‘Get these kids playing football here on Friday nights’

The Windermere High School auditorium was at capacity Wednesday, Aug. 23 — filled with students, teachers, parents and neighboring residents there to hear an update on the proposal to build a permanent onsite football stadium. Orange County Public Schools and Orange County Government held the joint meeting, which included detailed PowerPoint presentations and a Q&A session.

The school opened in 2017 on Winter Garden Vineland Road, Windermere. Because it was built in a rural settlement with strict guidelines, all home football games have been played a mile away at Deputy Scott Pine Community Park. For six years, parents and students have voiced concerns about the safety, parking and other challenges faced on Friday nights.

The proposal is to build a permanent stadium with 1,852 seats on the current track and practice field. The project includes an 1,872-square-foot building, ticket booth, restrooms, concessions, athletic storage containers and four new LED light poles to replace six existing poles. The basketball court and long jump area will be relocated.

Games would begin at 7 p.m. Friday and end no later than 11 p.m. Lighting and noise concerns from neighboring residents were addressed as well.

The project will go before Orange County’s Board of Zoning Adjustment Sept. 7, and the public hearing is tentatively planned for the Orange County Board of County Commissioners’ Oct. 24 agenda. If it is approved by the BCC, procurement and construction would begin in November and the stadium would be ready for Friday night games by August 2024.