Cabrillo High School in Vandenberg Village has received a $5,000 grant from T-Mobile through its Friday Night 5G Lights program, which supports high school football programs in smaller communities.
This marks the third time Cabrillo High School has received the grant.
Athletic Director Derek Wong said the funding will help as the cost of operating an athletic program continues to increase.
“It’s a time where everything is more expensive,” Wong said. “Equipment is more expensive with all the inflation and things. We saw almost a $30 increase in just football over the last couple of years.”
While the grant will help with athletic program expenses, Wong said Cabrillo’s larger goal is to have a stadium of its own.
For years, students, staff, and community members have pushed for a home stadium. Wong said Cabrillo has rarely been able to host football games on its own campus.
“In the 61 years of our school, we’ve played three or maybe four home football games actually on our campus,” Wong said. “Most people outside of our community don’t realize that our football field is located at Lompoc High School.”
For student-athletes, a new athletic facility could also address some of the challenges they currently face during practices.
Cabrillo student Felix Hernandez said the condition of the current practice field is not the best.
“It would be amazing if we get a new field, even a practice field, honestly,” Hernandez said. “There are holes and gopher holes, the grass is always long. It’s just more prone to injuries with gopher holes and things to trip and whatnot.”
The push for a home stadium also has support from former Cabrillo students who are now part of the school community.
Julia Garmendia, a Cabrillo graduate who now works as a teacher at the school, said she hopes to see the project become a reality.
“We’ve obviously been waiting for years to have this stadium and just kind of seeing us inch closer and closer toward that goal,” Garmendia said. “Hopefully, in my tenure here, we can have a home game.”
Daniel Duffy, a former Cabrillo High School basketball and water polo coach who now serves on the Cabrillo Athletic Field and Track fundraising committee, said in an email that the group’s ultimate goal is to raise $1.4 million for the stadium project.
The committee is currently working toward its next fundraising goal of $500,000.
The proposed stadium project would include a synthetic-turf athletic field and a polyurethane, all-weather seven-lane track.
Wong said students and staff will continue working toward the goal of bringing a stadium to the Cabrillo campus, click here to access the proposed Cabrillo High School Stadium Improvement Project.
