The roar of the crowd echoed across Citizens Field as Buchholz High School’s football players huddled on the sideline.
Senior safety Caleb Young Jr. knelt at his favorite spot near the 30-yard line, eyes closed and hands clasped in quiet prayer — a pause before the chaos of the city championship game against Gainesville High School earlier this month.
“It’s definitely a vibe,” Young Jr. said. “We come out here. We know we dominate. And this is our field.”
For three Gainesville high schools — Buchholz, Eastside and Gainesville — Citizens Field is more than just a stadium. It’s where rivalries meet, and every Friday night feels like home, even if the field isn’t theirs, technically.
Now, as Gainesville city commissioners consider selling Citizens Field to the Alachua County School Board, the future of the city’s most storied sports venue remains uncertain.
Opened in 1948, Citizens Field has served as the central hub for local high school sports, hosting generations of athletes, cheerleaders and fans.
Its inaugural game that year — Gainesville High School versus Seminole High School (then called Sanford High School) — kicked off decades of tradition and local pride.
According to the minutes from the Gainesville City Commission’s Oct. 9 meeting, the commission voted unanimously to weigh selling Citizens Field to the Alachua County School Board. The city’s offer, however, comes with conditions attached.
The property must remain a stadium, and if the school district accepts the deal, it would have to continue using Citizens Field while building a new stadium by 2028.
The proposal is part of an $84 million plan to renovate public facilities, including a new Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center and new swimming pools.
Jackie Johnson, public information officer for Alachua County Public Schools, confirmed in an email on Oct. 29 that the district is considering the purchase.
“We are considering the purchase of Citizens Field and have been involved in ongoing discussions with the City of Gainesville,” Johnson wrote. “Legally, the district can only spend capital funding on improving the stadium if we own it.”
Buchholz High School defensive coordinator Chuck Bell has coached numerous games at Citizens Field. He said his team has learned to embrace the stadium, despite its flaws.
“There is a desire to have our own field… It’s always nice to have your own stuff,” Bell said. “But Citizens has been a pretty special place to us. We’ve only lost twice at Citizens in the regular season.”
Still, he admits the venue is outdated, with parts of the stands even condemned by the county.
“There are a host of renovations that would be worthwhile to make toward Citizens Field,” Bell added. “Quite frankly, we are far behind most counties in Florida.”
While Buchholz practices on its own campus — and the junior varsity team plays there as well — hosting varsity games is far more complicated, especially without a press box and ADA-accessible seating. Bell said stadium development of that caliber isn’t simple.
“It’s not totally unprecedented if the three high schools were to play a game on their own home field,” he said. “But as a permanent solution, there would be a lot of different [factors] that would go into making that happen.”
For parents like Lunese Boco, mother of Caleb Young Jr., the problems at Citizens Field are just as obvious.
“Sharing the field is not an issue, but Citizens Field is so old,” she said. “When it rains, it pours on everyone. The bleachers are not safe… With as [many] condos and apartments as they’re putting up [in Gainesville], someone should be able to make an investment…”
Though she recognizes the memories the stadium holds, Boco believes the community, especially students, deserves more.
“Someone’s going to get hurt,” Boco said. “A couple of weeks [ago], they had to close one section off because it was [unsafe] for our band… That should tell them something.”
For the student-athletes who bring Citizens Field to life each week, the shared stadium is less about logistics and more about community.
“I enjoy coming out here, cheering with my friends and [being part of] a good family and student crowd,” said Jayla Garrison, a senior Gainesville High School cheerleader. Her teammate Taja Cohen, a junior, added, “I don’t really mind sharing the field. We just come out here and have fun.”
Even Young Jr., who dreams of a new stadium, admits the field still has its value.
“It needs some work done to it,” Young Jr. said, “but it’s getting the job done for right now.”
His coach noted that the stadium’s limitations affect more than just Friday-night games.
“If your interpretation of Gainesville is just based on your trip to Citizens Field, you don’t leave thinking Gainesville is a top-notch city,” Bell said. “I certainly think our athletes deserve better.”