The first high school football game I covered during a long career as a Daily World sports writer and editor took place in September of 1972 at Elma’s Davis Field. Elma defeated Montesano that night in the first of two meetings that season between the East County rivals (for the record, Monte won the rematch). I’ve thus viewed the long-running stalemate over the construction of a new Elma stadium with a mixture of nostalgia and frustration.
Located on the Elma High School campus, Davis Field has been without a covered seating area since 2014, when the old wooden grandstand was condemned. Several bond issues to build a new stadium have been rejected by voters — most by significant margins. While Davis Field has continued to host Eagle football and soccer game during the past decade, spectator accommodations have been restricted to one set of relatively small, uncovered metal bleachers located on one side of the field.
This less-than-ideal situation may soon be resolved by a proposal organized by Elma’s Brogan family and their non-profit entity— A Chance to Play Foundation — to build a 1,300-seat covered grandstand on the Davis Field footprint. If it materializes, Davis Field would retain its name but the seating area will be renamed Chance Brogan Memorial Grandstand in honor of a former Eagle athlete who died in 2022. The proposed $4.
5 million project will be financed through a combination of family funds, donated labor and community donations. Delaney Holcomb (Cha.