The homecoming football game on Sept. 16 was the last game played on the old Memorial Field.

Memorial Field was a large part of Sandpoint’s culture, and many people including past and present students spent their free time sitting in its bleachers for events such as the Festival at Sandpoint, high school sports, and graduation.

Teams have won there, lost there, cried there, celebrated there, and bonded there.

The community has booed there, cheered there, and made memories there. Memorial Field holds many important moments for many people.

Varsity football player Cole Hooper’s favorite memory of Memorial Field was the last homecoming game.

“I finally got to ring the bell…we were the last people to play on that field, and I just loved it,” Hooper said.

For Addi Edwards, a varsity cheerleader, Senior Night on the eve of the homecoming football game was the most memorable experience at Memorial Field.  

“My parents got to walk me out. It was really special to me,” Edwards said.

Memorial Field is also where the Sandpoint High School homecoming king and queen are announced.

In the past, nominees have been driven around the field in convertibles wearing their formal clothes.

“The couples would all be on parade, and it was really cool,” Sandpoint High School math teacher Mary Bird said.

Sports are a large part of what brought people to Memorial Field on Friday nights, but sports are not all that people will remember. They will remember sitting with their friends and family, selling concessions to raise money for clubs, attending the Festival, and feeling the sense of community.

This is the most important part of Memorial Field; not the physical aspect that is being torn down, but the part of it that lives on in reminiscing.

The tearing down of Memorial Field is not its death. It will be rebuilt and community members will continue to congregate, celebrate, and create new memories because perhaps it is not a part of their lives. Perhaps they are a part of its life.