Wynne Community Rallies Behind Stadium & Lighting Rebuild After Tornado
The Challenge
On March 31, 2023, an EF-3 tornado ripped through the town of Wynne, Arkansas, leaving a path of devastation that wiped away homes, businesses, and municipal buildings, including Wynne High School. As the community rallied to rebuild, they set an ambitious goal: to restore their high school football stadium in time for the Wynne Yellowjackets’ season opener in September. The grandstand, most of the turf, and field lighting had been destroyed—and building the stadium back, better than before, would be a testament to the community’s extraordinary resilience.
The Solution
The Wynne Public School District and its contractor, United Turf and Track, reached out to Musco, the company that had designed the stadium’s previous field lighting. Within a few short weeks, Musco had designed and installed a custom LED lighting system that outperformed the previous high-intensity discharge (HID) system in many ways, including more uniform light levels, greater energy efficiency, instant on/off and dimming capabilities, and advanced light show technology. When the Yellowjackets took the field that season, their entrance was heralded by pulse-pumping music and color-changing lights, cheered by a capacity crowd, and accompanied by the fulfillment of having reached another milestone on their path to recovery.
“The stadium was a wreck. A total loss. Musco came in and literally, I think it was within one week of their arrival, they had everything up and running. Now we have light shows, with our school colors flashing when we score a touchdown. The light levels are better, the system controls are easy-to-use – I think it’s the best lighting system in our conference now.”
Bryan Mattox – Athletic Director, Wynne High School
Wynne High School Football Stadium Photo Gallery
