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Feb 22, 2025

Jackson Lumen Christi football to install lights at practice field, likely to host more true home games - mlive.com

Jackson Lumen Christi has played one true home high school football game each of the past three years, all on Saturday afternoons The school is poised to host more games and will be able to do so at

Jackson Lumen Christi has played one true home high school football game each of the past three years, all on Saturday afternoons

The school is poised to host more games and will be able to do so at night.

Hillsdale-based Qualite Sports Lighting, led by Lumen Christi graduate and owner Eric Boorom, will install the first high-performance LED sports lighting system at any high school sports field in the state.

The goal is to have the installation completed in time for Lumen Christi to host Grand Rapids West Catholic in the season opener on Thursday, Aug. 25, under the lights at the field where three years ago it added artificial turf as part of a $1.1 million renovation.

And it will come at no cost to the school.

"(Boorom) will have a kid at Lumen Christi this fall and so he decided it would be a good place to do it because we have a beautiful field," Lumen Christi President Elaine Crosby said.

Crosby said among the needs remaining to make the facility a full-functioning stadium are redoing the press box, installing a concessions stand, adding restrooms and expanding the bleachers.

A private school, Lumen Christi doesn't receive funds through taxes or millages, relying on the support and generosity of mostly alumni for much of its funding.

"When Eric approached us about installing lights with no cost to us, we could not have been more pleased," Crosby said. "The alumni and the benefactors of Lumen have continued to support Lumen for nearly 50 years and continue to do so.

"I think it's wonderful that we can count on our Jackson community and our Lumen community across the country. ... We're very appreciative of all the donors we have because that's what keeps our doors open."

It remains unclear just how many home games Lumen Christi will host at its field and how many it will play at its long-time, off-campus home of Withington Community Stadium it shares with Jackson High School.

"(Withington) has been our home field and will still be our home field for most of the games this year, but the hope is to have at least two at Lumen this year," Crosby said. "Our goal is someday for this to be our field because we have lots of people that would like to come watch, but we don't have the facilities for it yet."

According to a press release, the lighting system that will be installed is "designed for all sports venues, from Little League fields to professional sports stadiums, with a focus on great connectivity and functionality."

In the release, Boorom said, "It was important to Qualite to have a venue in the mid-Michigan area to host our very first Michigan installation for sales demonstrations to prospective customers who visit Qualite from around the world."

Boorom credited Mike Hirst with Hirst Electric and Mark Olinyk with Harvest Envery Solutions for their donation of the electrical installation and metal poles for the project.

"Lumen will have the most state of the art high school sports facility in Michigan with artificial turn and light levels equal to a NCAA football stadium," Boorom said in the release.

The Titans are 3-0 in the three games they've played at their field, beating Eaton Rapids 49-16 in 2013, Coldwater 35-24 in 2014 and Jackson Northwest 41-6 last season.

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