In 1970, Perkins Stadium had field lights installed so the field could be used at night.

Forty years later, and just last winter, one of those four seldom-used lights came crashing down onto the stadium bleachers in the midst of a blizzard. Thankfully, no one was in the stadium at the time. Following the incident, the remaining three lights were removed and Perkins was lightless for over a year.  

“The institution decided to remove the other three lights because of liability reasons, and obviously we had to get something done very quickly,” Athletic Director Paul Plinske said.

Due to the high cost of installing new lights for the football stadium, the process of replacing the lights had been moving slowly until the beginning of the school year.

The lights will cost UW-Whitewater about $100,000. Although some of the cost will be covered by insurance, installing the new lights was still an expensive proposition and thus, was subject to a long bureaucratic process.

This past summer, several camps and events took place at Perkins Stadium, so temporary lights had to be placed around the football field. However, the temporary lights, were considered a safety hazard for the varsity football team and were removed before the beginning of the season.

The process was sped up by a scheduling mishap. The football game on Friday night was not planned.

“Every October, UW-Whitewater is obligated by contract to provide Perkins Stadium to the State Marching Band Competition so they can have a Saturday every year,” Plinske said. “But because there are five Saturdays in October, the scheduling was thrown off.”

Due to the conflict, Plinske called UW-Stout and rescheduled the football game for Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon. Because of the night game, the installation of the lights was finished this past Sunday.

Although the night game was accidental, Plinske said it is something the Warhawks have always wanted to do.

“We think we should have a night game every year,” Plinske said. “We have a fireworks display after the game and we’re just trying to create a little bit of an atmosphere.”

Plinske said that the Warhawk football team is expecting a great crowd for the night game and hoping success on Friday will be a sign of things to come.

“We’re excited about it and maybe it’s a good omen, because the Stagg Bowl this year is on a Friday night as well,” Plinkse said.