From a Racetrack to Football, Chagrin Falls Grandstand Celebrates 100 Years

August 29, 2013 by Gwen Cooper

With thousands of games under its belt, and countless budding romances in its stands, the Chagrin Falls High School stadium grandstand will return as a veteran player this year, marking its 100th anniversary.

The public is invited to a celebration at the Tigers varsity football home opener Aug. 30 against Madison, with a pre-game tailgate party and a special halftime ceremony.

“For 100 years the stadium has served as a gathering place for the community,” Chagrin Falls Schools Superintendent Robert Hunt said. “It represents the strength of the community and the value of tradition, both of which are fundamental in making Chagrin Falls a special place.”

The festivities will start with the annual 5-7 p.m. Chagrin Falls Booster Club tailgate party. It includes food, music and family activities, such as face painting, cornhole, a football toss and “kick-it” with soccer players. The high school marching band will provide music. A meal of hamburgers, hot dogs and sides will be available for less than $10.

At halftime of the football game, Hunt will recognize the booster club for its work throughout the years on the stadium. Some of these recent features include the specially made 100-year banner, installation of a new brick walkway and the “Go Tigers” message painted on the roof.

What many people might not know is the stadium site was the original location of the Cuyahoga County Fair, Hunt said.

The concrete grandstand was constructed in 1913 for the fairgrounds that had been used since 1874 with an existing half-mile long race track, according to the school’s former alumni director, Tom Mattern. He said the school’s current track runs over parts of the old original track.

Mattern compiled information on the history of the campus. In it, he said the first football game played by Chagrin took place on the fairgrounds in 1897 in the vicinity of where the high school and middle school buildings are now located. He reported that 35 people paid a 10 cent admission to watch the Chagrin team suffer a 100 defeat at the hands of a Geauga Seminary school team from Chester Township.

The grandstand was first used for football spectators for a game on Sept. 27, 1929, Mattern said, adding a team from Willoughby team defeated Chagrin by a score of 45-0.

By that time, the fair had moved west to Berea four years earlier, leaving the Chagrin Falls fairgrounds.

Mattern said the school board had leased the land for $1 per year for 99 years from the Cuyahoga County Commissioners. He noted by 1955 the school board bought the property for $5,000.

Continuous improvements were made to the complex over the years by the booster club and with the support of other groups including the Chagrin Falls Dad’s Club, Music Lovers, Chagrin Falls VFW, the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Giles Foundation. These included installation of an all-weather track in 1984, a scoreboard in 1996 and the addition of lockers beneath the stands in 1997.

In 1967, the stadium was dedicated to Carlyle S. Harris, who donated to and raised funds for new south side bleachers, perimeter fencing and electric lights that were installed in 1944, Hunt said.

Mattern said the first night football game was played under the lights on Oct. 18, 1945. Chagrin beat Chardon, 13-6.

“For many years, the stadium was considered the most charming facility of its kind in northeastern Ohio. Nothing was comparable,” Mattern said. “The first college football game ever played in the Chagrin Valley was played under the new modern lighting system at the old stadium on Sept. 28, 1946. The night game featured Kent State University versus Hiram College. A crowd of about 5,000 saw Kent State beat Hiram, 40-0.

“It was believed to be the first college football game ever played in a non-college town in Ohio,” he added. “Former Cleveland Browns head coach Bill Belichick’s father, Steve Belichick, was the head coach at Hiram College.”

Mattern noted more recent improvements included new lighting erected in the summer of 2001, new restrooms and concession stands in 2009, and an artificial turf field in 2005, which is used an estimated 600 times a year by various teams.

A new flagpole donated by the Chagrin Falls VFW was dedicated prior to the first home football game of the 2011 season. He added more than 600 Chagrin Falls’ graduates have served in the U.S. military.

“Through it all the old grandstand has aged, but continues to hold 100 years of great Tiger memories,”Mattern said.