The Bluefield City Board needs to slow the momentum on a proposal to change the name of Mitchell Stadium to Merrill Gainer Stadium.
Board members mulled the action at last week’s meeting, before announcing it would be voted on in a special called meeting Tuesday at 8 a.m.
We are concerned with the haste of the board in scheduling a vote on this issue before the public has had an opportunity to weigh in on the name change.
There is no doubt Merrill Gainer, coach of the Bluefield Beavers from 1959 to 1967, was a local legend, and his contributions to BHS football and the community are certainly worthy of memorialization. Under Gainer’s leadership the Beavers captured four AAA West Virginia High School State Championships, and had an impressive record of 87 wins and only 6 losses.
At last week’s board meeting, several members of the Merrill Gainer Stadium Committee spoke of Gainer’s winning attitude, dedication and positive impact on local youth.
“The impact of all of this winning was contagious,” said John Beckett, chairman of the committee. “It was visible in the very young who wanted to emulate the ‘stars’ Beaver was producing under Coach Gainer’s ‘Commitment to Excellence’ program. It was visible at the high school level when students got their first look at the pride and prestige that came from being state champions in anything. It was visible in the community as more and more people began to show up at games when there was a greater than normal expectation of going home happy with a win.”
We agree that Gainer’s achievements are unmatched. However, we also appreciate the contributions of many others in our community throughout its history, including Emory P. Mitchell, Bluefield’s city manager during the 1930s and ’40s for whom the stadium is currently named.
Although renaming the stadium would be a tribute to Gainer, the action also bears a note of disrespect to Mitchell and his accomplishments.
During the past few days, several other ideas have been put forth to honor Gainer while retaining Mitchell Stadium. Suggestions include naming Stadium Drive in honor of Gainer or creating a local football hall of fame as a place to honor all our local sports heroes.
We believe all the ideas put forth to honor Gainer have merit, and should be taken into consideration by the board.
Through the decades, Mitchell Stadium has become a landmark of special memories for the thousands of players, students and fans who have enjoyed a game under the Friday night lights. These residents, young and old, deserve a chance to have input on a decision as momentous as changing the name of the stadium.
We encourage Bluefield board members to slow down, and give the public a chance to speak out on this issue.
A hurried vote on Tuesday morning would be a disservice to the people of this city.
Editorials
July 18, 2010
Slow down: Public input needed on Mitchell Stadium name change
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