Buford’s Phillip Beard Stadium Dazzling Debut

The Buford Wolves did more than just kick off the season on Thursday night when they hosted Milton. Yes, both teams are ranked in the state and nationally. Buford (8-AAAAAA) is ranked No. 10 and Milton (7-AAAAA) is ranked No. 15 in the High School on SI Top 25. (Buford won 20-13). Yes, the game was nationally televised on ESPN2.

Surrounding the highly anticipated match-up, though, was the talk of the high school off-season in Georgia, the unveiling of Buford’s state-of-the-art new, $62 million Phillip Beard Stadium.

Phillip Beard Stadium is truly unlike and above any high school venue in Georgia. The massive brick structure sits atop on a hill across Buford Highway and slightly above the high school campus. It’s architecture complements the high school and other civic buildings nearby.

Buford, the school, the community, and the city are fortunate and unlike more than 95% of the schools they compete against in Georgia. Buford High School is not private and isn’t part of the Gwinnett County School System. 

The city actually owns the stadium, but the relationship is uniquely symbiotic. The man Phillip Beard is chairman of the school board and was first elected to the city commission exactly fifty years ago. The arrangement seems to be working. U.S. News Reports ranks Buford High as the 27th best public school in Georgia. This fall it will host a competition for forty-plus high school bands, and events such as concerts are on the horizon. 

Speaking about the possibility of concerts, double-header and all-star football games, Director of Athletic Facilities Tony Wolfe noted, “that will have a huge economic impact on our city with staying here a couple nights.”

Not only is the stadium beautiful and massive (capacity approximately 11,000), it’s user-friendly.

You don’t have to reach your seat or even have a ticket to check out the action. The 80-foot x 42-foot video board is two-sided. If the action is on the opposite side of the field from your seat, you can watch it all in perfect definition.

Before the game, the hosts ran highlights of some of Buford’s fourteen past state championships, as well as player and cheerleader intros. Air-conditioned luxury boxes look down from above. The concession stands have big-screen digital menus. Not forgotten or underrated are the bathrooms. The facilities are large enough that there was no waiting at halftime, even with a packed house. The atmosphere went next level when the stadium lights were dimmed and the light ribbons that wrap three sides of the stadium traded advertisements for special effects.

Phillip Beard Stadium drew some expected comments from the visiting Milton crowd. One-word answers from the North Fulton County fans were predictably, “Wow,” “Massive,” and “Unreal.”

Milton students Luke and Lance were filming the game for the football staff. Color them impressed. When asked if they were a little jealous, the response was, “I thought we had a pretty good stadium, but this is sweet.”

The boys were enjoying taking everything in and even enjoyed their interaction with the home crowd.

“I was in the stands for a little bit and I ran into a few of them, and they were actually pretty nice,” said Lance.

Judging from the high school logos around the stadium, fans from many other programs also made trips for the grand opening. Speaking for the home team’s fans, Wolfe noted, “I’m so proud of our community. Look at the way they turned out tonight.”

Throughout the evening it was easy to take in the environment above the synthetic turf on Dexter Wood Field, but there was a game to be played by two of the best teams in Georgia, after seven months of whatever fans do when they’re waiting for high school football.

The game was a physical affair with personal fouls being called at times against both squads. Buford avenged last year’s 13-10 loss to the eventual AAAAA champion Eagles.

Running back Tyriq Green, a University of Georgia commit, rushed for the first touchdown in Wolves’ new den. How did it feel to him, “Superfly.” Did he get to see the replay on the big screen? “Na, we were going the other way, so I didn’t get to see it.” When asked if he’ll look up next time he crosses the goal line, the answer was perfectly succinct, “Yes (with a very big high schooler’s grin).”

When a conversation with Tony Wolfe turned to the man whose name is on the stadium and the man whose name is on the plating field, Wolfe proudly said, “I can’t think of two finer men that this building could have been named after.” Wood is still active after serving as athletic director up until 2017 and has three state football titles as Buford’s coach. “He’s still instilling the values that we have (here), character and leadership,” said Wolfe