We want to put your thoughts here on the direction of Fort Bragg's Future. email them to:talk@GoFortBragg.com

The stadium is now serving many high school functions in addition to football and track (like the upcoming Rotary Invitational Baseball Tournament - April 19 to 22).

The Timberwolf Stadium was built to collegiate specs. That means Cal-Berkeley and Stanford could have a televised track meet at our location.

The Timberwolf Stadium is the show place of our town commitment, a theater of glory for all students..

Jim Nella

'Let there be light'

March 15, 2001
Editor-- In the past two issues of the Advocate-News, there has been an opinion article and a Letter to the Editor about the cost, uses and benefits of James G. Cummings Timberwolf Stadium for evening events. Until the stadium was opened in September 2000, there was no field in Fort Bragg with lights and seats for late events.

We have checked the power bills with PG&E, and following is good estimate of the actual cost to provide lights for an evening event:

• The stadium has 112 lights mounted on poles, and each light draws 1,000 watts, or 1 KW. The current rate for power is $0.14 per kilowatt hour (KWH).
  
  
• The hourly cost to operate the stadium lights is: 112 lights x 1KW per light x $0.14 per KWH = $15.68 per hour. (Let's just say the cost is $16:00 per hour, like a good even dollar accountant.)
  
  
• The average game is about five hours long. the cost per game is: 5 hours per game x $16 per hour for lights = $80.

We see many more persons attending events, mostly families. Your writers are correct; a night at a stadium is low cost. A small portion of the gate receipts can easily cover the power costs. Rationalize it any way, the community has contributed its time, money and expertise for an improved public property. The stadium is not done, but it works for now.

By the way, we are still raising funds to complete the job. You can get your name on a stadium seat for $150, paid in installments of $10 per month if you wish. If we sell all the seat sponsorships, we can nearly finish the project. Need more information? Call 964-0676.

Jere Melo, Secretary
Mendocino Coast Sports Foundation