Rotary Club donates to Eggerss Stadium

VW independent staff/submitted information

The Van Wert Rotary Club recently held its annual auction fundraiser which benefits a local project in Van Wert County. This year, the club selected Eggerss Stadium as the beneficiary of the proceeds from the event.

The event was held in late October at the fairgrounds and was deemed a success with $30,000 raised for the stadium renovation.

“We are thrilled with the result of the fundraiser and the donation Rotary was able to make in support of the Eggerss project,” said Van Wert City Schools Superintendent Mark Bagley, who is also a Rotary Club member.

The money raised will go toward the construction of a new multi-purpose building to be located just beyond the south end zone. This will be part of Phase IV of the overall renovation.

“Once the decision was made to support Eggerss Stadium, our club quickly began planning the event with a Halloween theme,” stated Adam Ries, Rotary Club President. “The committee did a great job pulling all the details together to make the event fun and successful.”

The massive renovation project at the historic downtown stadium began in 2023 and included concrete restoration, wider steps and hand rails on the home side, restoration of the Cougar Pride Wall and the installation of artificial turf. Work continued earlier this year and it included construction of a new and much larger press box and construction of an elevator shaft. The elevator itself turned out to be on back order, but is scheduled to arrive and be installed sometime in 2025. More improvements are slated for next year and beyond.

Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provide humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 31,000 Rotary clubs located in 166 countries.

Anyone who would like more information on how to make a difference with the ongoing Eggerss Stadium renovation project, should contact John White, Eggerss Stadium Legacy Chairman at 419.203.1217. There are still ways to support the project through the Legacy Program, naming rights, the paver program and more.

Eggerss Stadium has been in use since 1936. It’s downtown setting makes it one of the more unique high school football stadiums in all of Ohio.