Escambia Academy fans that attend games at EA’s Bachelor Field this season will notice an improved game-night experience.

Last Friday, the school installed new light fixtures at the stadium. EA football coach Hugh Fountain said the old stadium lights were more than 35 years old.

“We’ve been told that these new lights will cut our electrical bill by 66 percent, over the lifespan of the lights,” he said. “They’re much more efficient and powerful than what we used to have.”

Fountain said the stadium used to have 45 light bulbs and eight poles, but the new set-up only uses 24 light bulbs and four poles. Even with the smaller number of bulbs, Fountain said that fans would not notice a difference and the lighting at the field would likely be even better.

Fountain said the project would not have been completed without a large number of volunteers and donors. He estimated that EA received almost $50,000 worth of donations and in-kind labor to complete the lighting renovation.

“We also could have never gotten this done without the full support of EA and the board,” he said.

Fountain especially thanked Pat Lambert and G.A. West for providing the cranes to install the poles. He also expressed special appreciation to Don Weaver, Robbie Cotton and Southern Pine Electric Cooperative and PowerSouth.

Fountain said that he and other school officials first began talking about a large-scale improvement plan for the school’s athletics several years ago. The lighting project is another phase of that long-term improvement project, he said.

Some other improvements that have recently been completed at the school include irrigation at the softball field and a training facility for the baseball team. Fountain said more improvements are on the way for other facilities, in the coming years.

“These improvements started as a dream, then became a written vision, and now they’re becoming a reality,” he said. “This project is a testimony to the team spirit and family atmosphere that is here at Escambia Academy.”