Redlands East Valley High School celebrated the return of football and the end of the campus stadium’s second construction phase.
RELATED: Wildcat Stadium ready for kickoff Friday at Redlands East Valley
Football players took the field inside Wildcat Stadium for the season opener Friday night, Aug. 22, after a grand-opening event.
A woman carries an umbrella to her seat for the Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, grand opening celebration of Wildcat Stadium at Redlands East Valley High School. The football team kicked off its 2025 season in the stadium, for which the second phase of construction has been completed. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
A child uses an umbrella to block the sun during the Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, grand opening celebration for Wildcat Stadium at Redlands East Valley High School. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley football players march through the stands Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, as they take the field to play the California Military Institute in the first football game of the season at Redlands East Valley High School’s Wildcat Stadium in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School’s Wildcat Stadium hosts its first football game of the season in Redlands on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School football boosters hang banners of senior players at the main entrance to the school’s Wildcat Stadium on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School wide receiver Nathaniel Williams III is taken down after a catch in Wildcat Stadium on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
California Military Institute’s cornerback Cesar Martinez breaks up a pass intended for Redlands East Valley wide receiver Nathaniel Williams III on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, at Redlands East Valley High School’s Wildcat Stadium. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Referees stretch Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, on blocking dummies before the first game of the season between California Military Institute and Redlands East Valley High School at Wildcat Stadium in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School Coach Dylan Valencia, left, and Adam Zakowicz prepare the inflatable football helmet tunnel for players to enter the field before the grand opening celebration for Wildcat Stadium on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025 in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School cheerleaders snap a group photo Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, during the grand opening celebration for Wildcat Stadium. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley wide receiver Myles Kirkland gets a lift from offensive lineman Landon Mlotkowski on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, after he scores a touchdown at Wildcat Stadium in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
The Marching Wildcats, Redlands East Valley High School’s marching band, prepares for the grand opening of the school’s Wildcat Stadium in Redlands on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
The Marching Wildcats, Redlands East Valley High School’s marching band, takes the field Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, as it prepares for the grand opening of Redlands East Valley High School’s Wildcat Stadium in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School’s Taamir Mack avoids California Military Institute defensive end Edgar Rubalcaba after a catch at Redlands East Valley High School’s Wildcat Stadium on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School Head Coach Kristian King works with players Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, before the team’s season opener against California Military Institute inside Wildcat Stadium in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School wide receiver Nathaniel Williams III warms up in the end zone before the Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, grand opening of Wildcat Stadium in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School wide receiver Isaiah Duncan looks to catch a pass Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, during warmups before the season opener against California Military Institute in Wildcat Stadium in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Coaches and players move a large screen television to the sidelines Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, before the grand opening celebration for Wildcat Stadium at Redlands East Valley High School. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) Coaches and player
Redlands East Valley High School students pose for photos Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, with a frame marking the team’s first football game of the season at Wildcat Stadium at Redlands East Valley High School. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School wide receiver Myles Kirkland scores a touchdown Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Wildcat Stadium, on a 54-yard pass from quarterback Vitela Isaac in a game against California Military Institute in Redlands. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley High School’s new varsity Head Coach Kristian King, a 2011 graduate of the school and a former player, leads his team onto the field Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, during the grand opening celebration for Wildcat Stadium. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley linemen are silhouetted Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, as they prepare to play California Military Institute in the 2025 season home opener on campus. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Redlands East Valley wide receiver Myles Kirkland scores a touchdown Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, after the grand opening celebration for Wildcat Stadium at Redlands East Valley High School. The football team kicked off its 2025 season in the stadium, for which the second phase of construction has been completed. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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A woman carries an umbrella to her seat for the Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, grand opening celebration of Wildcat Stadium at Redlands East Valley High School. The football team kicked off its 2025 season in the stadium, for which the second phase of construction has been completed. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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The facility partially opened in early 2023 and the stadium hosted games such as soccer and football, but construction continued.
Friday’s celebration included speeches from Redlands Unified School District officials, recognitions of football, band, and cheer alumni as well as student performances.
Then, on the gridiron, the Wildcats trounced the California Military Institute Rough Riders 63-7 in their season-opener.
Construction of the stadium began in June 2022 and was partially paid for by Measure D school bond dollars. All three of Redlands comprehensive high schools now have stadiums, though a third phase of construction will add more amenities to the Redlands East Valley High facility. The school opened in fall 1997.
The stadium features home and away bleachers, a press box and the Wildcats logo at midfield. The field sports red-colored end zones that say “REV” and “Wildcats.”
