As Brookwood looks to open its season at home on Friday, Sept. 1 against West Blocton, it is not just another home game for the Panthers.

Instead, it is a game where the school is set to debut its brand-new football stadium to the Brookwood community and the state of Alabama.

The new stadium will replace Billy Joe Young Field, which the Panthers have been playing in since the 1940's. It will take on the name of the old field, and still be known as Billy Joe Young Field.

"Brookwood is a small town and Friday night football is a place where all of the community comes out," Brookwood Principal Kellie Hubbard said. "It's where families and friends gather, and it's just a place where people can come together and share laughter and enjoy football."

The stadium includes a new turf football field, a track and a new field house on the Brookwood campus. The project was approved by the Tuscaloosa County school board in September of 2022, and it came out to be $18.2 million, with the funds coming from school board. The project started in April, and it is set to be ready for the Panthers' game on Friday.

The new stadium, Hubbard said, was a long time coming for Brookwood.

"I'm so excited just to see the excitement on our students faces," Hubbard said. "Just to be a part of that energy that is going to be in that place. It is just a long time coming. We had endured that old stadium for such a long time and Brookwood is so deserving of this new place. It is a very overwhelming feeling just to be a part of it."

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The game on Friday will be the first time the Panthers squad has played on their new field, and one of the first times they have been on it together as a whole. Leading into it, coach Mike Bramblett said his squad is excited.

"They are definitely excited about it," Bramblett said. "We have seen the progress. We have been out there once to take pictures, so it may be the second time we are on it to play a game. But we are going to be very thankful for it."

Anna Snyder covers high school sports and University of Alabama recruiting for The Tuscaloosa News. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com. Follow her on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @annaesnyder2

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Brookwood set to debut its new football stadium on Friday