By Will Heath, For the Tribune
LEEDS — Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, at Homer Smiles Field was, in the words of Leeds City Schools superintendent John Moore, “a brand new game day experience.”
The newly renovated stadium opened officially to fans for Friday night’s game against St. Clair County. It features a more spacious (and more accessible) grandstand, a massive new video board, new turf and a new fieldhouse. That fieldhouse includes new restrooms, concession stands and premium areas for QB Club members.
“I just want to congratulate our community on having something so fabulous for our kids,” Moore said. “And it just really is a heartwarming thing to be able to provide these kinds of facilities for our students.”
The new stadium drew a large crowd for its debut, with fans streaming in for most of the first quarter and beyond.
“It’s tremendous,” said Leeds head coach Jerry Hood. “It’s an unbelievable crowd here. They told me the numbers that we made tonight and it’s one of the bigger crowds we’ve had. I think everybody enjoyed it.”
Moore said the project “started with an idea” and matriculated through multiple governmental bodies, including the Jefferson County Commission and the Alabama legislature. He specifically thanked state representatives Dan Roberts and Susan Dubose for making “a dream a reality for our citizens.”
The stadium hasn’t lost all of its history, as well. The grandstand, Moore said, was erected in 1948 by the Army Corps of Engineers.
“It’s the remaining last piece of what was old,” he said. “So we have a little bit of the old, a little bit of the new, and we have all the tradition.”
Moore and other city officials will participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new facilities prior to the Green Wave’s next home game, against Clay Central, on Sept. 11.
“I think this will be something they’ll remember when they come,” Leeds city council member Eric Turner said. “This facility is good as you’ll see now. And I’m so proud of it.”
