Grant community urges faster installation of stadium lights; district targets Dec. 1

Community members and student athletes urged Portland Public Schools on Aug. — during the Facilities Improvement and Oversight Committee public comment period — to accelerate installation of stadium lights at Grant High School’s bowl so teams can play home evening games there.

The most detailed public comments came from Gretchen Cole, a parent of a recent Grant graduate and of a current Grant student-athlete, who said community fundraising and city approval are in hand and asked the district to “expedite this project. Prioritize our students.” Several student speakers described the same problem: long travel to off-site venues for evening games and repeated missed class time.

The issue matters to the Grant community, speakers said, because home evening games increase student attendance by peers, strengthen community ties and reduce lost instructional hours. “Only five of those games have been in the bowl,” said Lucy Capranos, a rising senior at Grant High School, describing her three-year varsity experience.

In public comment, speakers offered numeric estimates of the academic impact. Gretchen Cole estimated that when multiple teams play on the same day, about 130 Grant students may leave school early per game and that, across a typical fall schedule, travel to off-site venues could represent roughly 2,080 students affected and about 22,080 student-hours lost districtwide for soccer alone. Rick Wesner, a senior and four-year member of Grant’s soccer program, said this season’s home-game travel would cost his team about 11 hours of class time.

Tom Hodges, Portland Public Schools’ chief of integrated operations, told the committee the district is pursuing an aggressive schedule and believes the lights can be installed by Dec. 1 if several conditions are met. Hodges said land-use review with the city has been completed and that Musco Manufacturing, the lighting vendor, is prepared to move forward once the district has an executed contract. He told the committee that the district needs: a board contract approval (with a submittal deadline the district identified to allow board action), timely utility service installation and faster municipal permitting than the current average timelines.

Hodges outlined the major external dependencies: electrical service from Portland General Electric or other utility partners and local permitting timelines. He described average permitting times of roughly six weeks but said the project needs permit turnaround near four weeks to meet the December target. Hodges also asked for community help to “apply the correct pressure” to expedite outside-agency work, and noted Musco’s readiness to proceed once a contract is in place.

Committee members and staff discussed next steps and information the committee wants at future meetings: a district timeline for contract submission and board approval, clarity on permitting and power service steps and a projected construction schedule. Committee members asked staff to seek a clear public permitting timeline and to report back; the committee discussed having the district coordinate outreach to the City of Portland and utility partners to accelerate service and permits.

No formal action or board vote occurred at the committee meeting. Committee members directed staff to return with a timeline and to report progress at the next committee meeting. Tom Hodges and staff emphasized the number of external approvals still needed and reiterated the Dec. 1 target as conditional on permitting, electrical service and board contract approval.

Supporters at the meeting urged quick district action so current students can play home games under lights “in front of their peers,” and district staff said they will pursue the permitting, contract and service steps needed to advance the project.