BUSINESS
WF New Stadium
A New Chapter In District History story by Melissa Rollins / photos by Steve Camlin
Florence 1 Schools has changed tremendously over the last three years. From rebranding, school renovations and new academic programs to the multi-million-dollar investment in the Arts, Florence 1 has seen improvements all over the district. In more recent months, there has been a lot of dirt. First was the construction of an addition at McLaurin Elementary School. Then came the new gym for Greenwood Elementary School, a facility fifty years in the making. Renovations started at the McClenaghan building and work began for the new Southside Middle School building. In September 2020, ground was broken on three 5,000 seat stadiums at South Florence, West Florence and Wilson High Schools giving student-athletes a true home stadium for the first time in their history.
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“I am thankful and appreciative of the time and money the district has put into our athletics,” McCabe said. “As a student-athlete it feels good to have a home field that makes us feel more bonded as a team; it makes us feel important and like people care about our sport. As the first team to ever play on that field, its surreal. I know that once I graduate and am looking back at high school that that will be one of the moments I come back to and will never forget.” The progress in the district has not gone unnoticed, specifically when it comes to improvements in athletics: on March 14th, Florence 1 Superintendent Dr. Richard O’Malley was named the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association Superintendent of the Year. The award nomination came from Florence 1’s three high school athletic directors. Greg Johnson, athletic director for West Florence High School, highlighted the on-site stadiums in his nomination letter. “(Dr. O’Malley’s) belief in and perseverance of equity across the district of F1S is so strong that when the referendum was defeated, he sought feedback and then did what he seems to always do -- he got creative. He talked to real taxpayers, he crunched numbers, and made plans…The sight of bulldozers and dirt and pipe might look like a mess to some people, but for those of us “in the know,” the mess looks like beautiful, promising
SF Football 10
West Florence opened their new stadium to the public for the first time on March 25th, hosting a girls’ soccer match against Myrtle Beach. West Florence soccer player Natalie McCabe said that her team was proud to be the first to officially use the stadium.
May 2021
