In the annual rivalry football game between Cabrillo and Lompoc high schools, Cabrillo was the home team, yet the game was still played at Lompoc's Huyck Stadium.
“It's always in the back of our heads as just like it's technically a home game, but is it really?” questioned Cabrillo High School Senior Asher Jones.
For many Cabrillo High fans, faculty and students, playing home games at Huyck Stadium since the school was built in 1965 means it doesn’t really feel like home.
“We have to thank Lompoc for the last 60 years to get to have our football games here, but we want it on our own campus,” said Bob Lawrence, longtime faculty member and Cabrillo Stadium Improvement Project Executive Director.
For the past two years, the Cabrillo Stadium Improvement Project has been working to raise money to build a track and field on the campus so sports like football, flag football, soccer, and track and field could have a place to call home.
Recently, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians contributed a $500,000 matching grant donation; however, costs for the original $2.8 million project have now tripled to almost $8 million with just under $1 million raised so far, according to Lawrence. Some of the factors attributed to the rising costs have been a third-party estimate and rising construction costs.
“The community wants it and so we're reaching out to all of Santa Barbara County to help us get our own field,” Lawrence said.
In 2023, former Cabrillo alum Danny Duffy donated $1.5 million to provide lights for the baseball field at Cabrillo High School.
“We can't go to the bank to Danny Duffy anymore," Lawrence said, explaining that he's done enough to assist the Cabrillo community.
Huyck Stadium is without working lights until November, which has accelerated conversations to get the project done soon.
“Over the last few years, specifically, we've seen a number of issues just with the current facility and needing upgrades and updates,” added Brian Grimnes, Cabrillo High School Principal.
Cabrillo and the Lompoc Unified School District are now turning to the community for help to raise the money needed for their own space. The school district will match half of what the fundraising committee is gathering, meaning both have to contribute about $4 million to complete the project.
“It's going to be really nice to have our own stadium, have our own true home field," Jones said.
If you'd like to donate or learn more about the project, visit here.
