El Capitan High School ushered in a new era for athletics with the official opening of a new on-campus football stadium on Tuesday afternoon. Students filled the stands as Merced Union High School District leaders, school administrators and local dignitaries celebrated the unveiling of the new $10.1 million stadium that seats just over 3,000 fans. 

 

“Today is a historic day for El Capitan High School,” said El Capitan head football coach Xavier Ramirez. “For the first time in school history we will have a true home field advantage, a place that belongs to us and a place we can finally call home. This is more than a stadium. This is where memories will be made, this is where battles will be fought and this is where legacies will be built.”

 

The stadium will be the future home for football, girls flag football, soccer, track & field meets and graduation ceremonies. The stadium features a brand new rubberized eight-lane track, a new pressbox, a state of the art video scoreboard, a ticket booth/concession stand and visitor side concessions with an athletic room. 

 

“At El Capitan High School, our message to our student athletes is clear and right up there on our scoreboard: ‘Play like a Gaucho, lead like a legend and leave a legacy,’” said El Capitan principal Megan Cope. “This stadium is where effort meets pride, where teamwork, resilience and character are built every single day. This will elevate our culture and bring our community together like never before.”

 

Since the school opened in 2013, the football team has never played a true home game. Most home games were played at Merced College, meaning the players and coaches always had to hop on a bus. The band and leadership students also had to travel to decorate the stadium and haul instruments. 

 

“From this moment on the standard changes,” Ramirez said. “This stadium represents opportunity, opportunity to raise expectations, to raise accountability and to raise the bar here at El Capitan High School. With this home comes responsibility: How we prepare, how we compete, how we respond to adversity and how we represent El Capitan every single day.”

 

El Capitan became the second MUHSD school in the past month to open a new football stadium with Buhach Colony High School in Atwater debuting its new stadium in December. The completion of stadiums at Buhach Colony and El Capitan means that all six MUHSD high schools (Merced, Golden Valley, El Capitan, Atwater, Buhach Colony and Livingston) will now have their own on-campus stadiums. 

 

Merced Police Chief Steven Stanfield, who attended both stadium ceremonies in the past month,  applauded the investment the District has made toward the youth in the community. “This District, this community is doing what it takes on behalf of the youth in this community,” Stanfield said. “On behalf of the entire City of Merced I thank you.”

The two new football stadiums at Buhach Colony and El Capitan continue MUHSD’s emphasis on providing top-notch athletic facilities for each school and its student athletes. It follows the opening of two brand new swimming pools at Atwater and Merced high schools in the past year. 

 

“I remember 12 years ago, we identified and defined what it means to have a complete high school,” said MUHSD Superintendent Alan Peterson. “We wrote down the facilities that that involves and one-by-one and over the last 12 years, we filled in those gaps, and today it's El Capitan's turn.”

 

Construction for the stadium started on June 10, 2024 and the first games to be played in the new stadium will take place on Wednesday night when the Gauchos boys soccer team hosts Atwater at 5:45 p.m.

 

“I can’t wait to see what this stadium does for growth within our school culture,” said ASB president and multisport athlete Colette Collins. “It’s a place where our school spirit will grow, we’ll make lifetime memories and students will have the privilege of cheering each other on. I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who made this possible. We’re proud to call this place our home and we’re so excited to train, cheer our hardest and eventually graduate in this very stadium as we show our community what it means to be an El Capitan Gaucho.”

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.