Nolan Catholic completes football vision at last

Nolan Catholic’s vision for a completed football complex in the natural amphitheater at the base of the school that sits on one of Fort Worth’s east-side hills was initially a 25-year plan crafted by the school’s founders in 1961.

It turned into a 54-year plan, but it is now complete with the Bishop Michael Olson’s dedication this week of the school’s state-of-the-art press box and scoreboard and video board at Doskocil Stadium.

The new landmark will have a formal introduction for the Vikings’ home game at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Argyle Liberty Christian.

That’s how it works when money doesn’t grow on bond measures that are non-existent for private and parochial schools. Those schools rely on the benevolence and generosity of benefactors for capital projects.

“What I see us doing here is building on what our parents have done before us,” said Erin Vader, school president. “We’re creating something for our kids and grandkids and hopefully they’ll build on that.”

The completion is the culmination of a process that began in the early 1980s with the installation of the track around what was then a football practice field.

The initial 25-year plan had been on life support since the first days of the school until boosters, including Vader’s father, Pat, set about making at least some resemblance of the vision a reality. Nolan had never had a home game since its opening in 1961. Nolan was founded as a merger of all-girls Our Lady of Victory and all-boys Laneri, both on the city’s south side.

One of the school’s most generous benefactors has been the Amon Carter Foundation, which donated the property where the school sits. Another is the Ben and Mary Frances Doskocil Foundation, which was the primary donor for the press box.

The challenge for school officials over the years has been balancing needs with the priority of keeping the school affordable for everybody who wanted to attend. The school had no air-conditioning until the early 1990s.

“Home” games were played at Scarborough-Handley Field, Trinity Field and later at Country Day, among other venues, for homecoming when essentially every game was on the road.

“It was kind of a wild commitment on my part, but I think it will happen,” said Pat Vader in 1987. “There are people who get involved in things, and people who stand back in things. Some of us have money to support the school. Others have time. Some fortunately have both. You make time.”

Nolan played its first home game in the school’s history in 1987.

The stadium consisted of stands on the east side of the stadium and a hill on the west. West-side seating was added in later years. Officials plan to add more seating in the coming years.

There have been two structures, sitting on top of the hill on the west side of the stadium, that have served as the press box in the past 28 years, both could’ve been victimized by the “big bad wolf,” said Steve Prud’homme, the school’s athletic director.

“I don’t think he can blow this one down,” Prud’homme said.

Dorothy’s tornado would struggle with the new two-story press box, which includes VIP areas and a 2,400 square foot balcony that provides one of the better views of downtown Fort Worth.

A fitting addition for a football program with seven state championships since 2004. Quite a change for a school that struggled to win a game for most of the first 25 years.

“The coaches love it. They’re not going to know what to do with themselves,” Prud’homme said. “It’s beyond words. We’re blessed and humbled.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Nolan Catholic completes football vision at last."