Lights being installed at Yorkton Regional High School football field

Well, starting this fall there will be more than one game under the lights as Century Field is getting lights, thanks to the Kinsmen Club of Yorkton and the efforts of several community businesses. 

The lighting project was announced Saturday to a packed St. Mary’s Cultural Centre as part of the Football Night in Saskatchewan program.  

“As Yorkton Minor Football we have a lot of goals,” Darcy Zaharia told those attending as he stood at the podium and members of the Kinsmen filled the stage behind him. 

One of those goals has been to add lights simply because daylight hours are limited in the evening in the fall, and with a growing football program finding enough hours for practices and games has become difficult. 

“We were running out of daylight in the fall,” said Zaharia. 

The Kinsmen stepped up with $100,000 for the project. 

“If a group needs something done the Kinsmen are always there for them,” said Zaharia. 

But the Kinsmen dollars were only the start of putting the project together. 

“Obviously I’m very pumped about getting lights,” said long-time coach Roby Sharpe. 

With the core funding from the Kinsmen Sharpe said they have spent the last couple of weeks lining up the various elements of the project. 

The first stop was at RH Electric to figure out a price for the electrical work. 

Sharpe said they were told not to worry about the cost because they were told “we’re going to donate our labour.” 

It was then realized they’d getting better lighting to raise the towers, but that would require concrete, said Sharpe, but what would that cost? 

It was off to Yorkton Concrete for an estimate. 

They walked out within minutes with the best of quotes. 

“It’s going to be free. It’s not going to cost you nothing,” said Sharpe. 

There would be a need to dig the holes too. 

“One hundred per cent we’ll dig all the holes free,” was the quote from Potzus Construction, said Sharpe. 

The electrical work needed trenched of course. 

It was off to Triple A Directional Drilling. 

“It’s not going to cost you nothing. We’re going to do it for free,” was the response said Sharpe. 

At this point the football coach was clearly showing the emotion of the support. 

“It makes you want to cry,” he said. “. . . It’s a pretty awesome place we live in.” 

There was one more piece of good news too, the school division is looking after operational costs. 

Zaharia said work should begin on the project soon and the lights are expected to be operational for the fall football season in the city.