LONGVIEW, TX --- The Friday Night Lights will shine at Pine Tree’s stadium this week for the season’s first football game, against the Henderson Lions; football fans will see a few changes when they arrive. Pirate Stadium is now equipped with additional seating, portable ADA compatible restrooms, additional ramps a remodeled ticket booth, and parking compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. ADA-compliant restrooms are located near the existing ones.

Fans will find a newly remodeled ticket booth which faces Pirate Avenue. General Admission tickets for $6.00 for both visitor and home side seats, and Reserved Seating Admission tickets for $7.00 for the home side will be for sale at the new ticket booth. Visitors may still buy tickets on the visitor side and ticket holders may still enter through the gates of the old ticket booth on the home side.

“The new ticket booth was formerly a swimming pool ticket booth,” said Hollins. Plywood was removed in the old building, from spaces for windows and lights were installed, he said. Additionally, parking for disabled guests was added to the lot by the stadium. Renovations have also taken place in the stadium press box where a new sub-floor was installed, carpet added, the roof repaired, and a guard rail installed.

The district has rented 520 seats to place on the visitor side of the stadium from Trinidad-based Specialty Event Seating Inc., Director of Facility Services Tony Hollins reports. The rentals will remain in place throughout the school year and are placed next to the visitor stands. A platform that runs the length of the home side of the stadium between the end of the stadium and the fence that separates the seats from the football field has also been added to allow for additional ADA-compliant seating. Fans will find a total of 1500 seats available on the visitor side and 3925 seats on the home side.

In addition to a fresh coat of paint, a new voice has also been added to promoting the Friday night event. Starting this week, Mark McLain with Legacy Sports Network will bring a live broadcast that will be available to hear through an internet stream. All games are archived on the Legacy Sports Network website and available to listen to for a year. Each football broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. with a pregame show that features an interview with Coach Huey Chancellor as well as a different player each week. Halftime will feature an interview with a PTISD administrator, coach of another sport, alumni, booster club official or others involved in promoting the district. There will also be time to play some of the music being performed by the Pine Tree band. To hear the broadcast, go to Pine Tree’s district webpage, www.ptisd.org, and click on the Friday Night Lights or Legacy link.

McLain lives in the East Texas area and is in his 31st year of broadcasting Texas high school football and basketball. He has won over 30 awards for his sports/news coverage from the Texas AP Broadcasters, Texas Association of Broadcasters and the Press Club of Dallas.

“Over the years I have called games for radio stations in Kilgore, Marshall, Temple, and Houston, as well as the Texas State Network, UIL Radio Network, Baylor Radio Network, and Fox Sports Southwest,” he reports.

In addition to the live broadcast of every football game, McLain will provide a show for sixteen of the boys’ basketball games (including all district games) during the season. Depending on the schedule there will also be the ability to broadcast selected girls basketball, boys and/or girls soccer, as well as softball and baseball games.