Ryan Seacrest Stadium: Dunwoody High School Gets Its First Home Football Field

Ryan Seacrest's old high school in Dunwoody, Georgia, is getting a football stadium of its own. The DeKalb County School Board gave final approvals on Nov. 9 for construction at Seacrest Stadium, and groundbreaking is set for the week of Nov. 23. The project is funded by a donation from the television host, a community fundraising drive and county oversight of construction.

Seacrest donation and community fundraising

Seacrest, who graduated from Dunwoody High School in 1993, donated more than $1 million to the project, according to reports. He said in a statement that the goal is to create a place where young people can pursue their dreams with support from their families.

That gift gave the school's community association a base for the "Bring It Home Dunwoody" campaign. In October, the effort reached its goal of raising an additional $1.5 million from nearly 800 community members, according to USA Today. The total project cost is about $2.7 million, per Reporter Newspapers.

The money will pay for additional seating, a press box, restrooms, a ticket booth, a concession building, landscaping, fencing and lighting. Reports differ on the final seat count: USA Today describes 2,000 new seats, while Reporter Newspapers says the work will bring total capacity to 3,000, the minimum needed to host home varsity football games.

Why the Wildcats have had no home field

The school added a turf field and 1,000 bleacher seats in 2020, but it could not host varsity games without the larger capacity. Instead, the football team shares stadiums across the DeKalb County School District and travels roughly 15 minutes to play home games, USA Today reported.

Players described the arrangement as a constant road trip. Junior tight end Charlie Survilas said the team has to take a bus to nearly every event, including pregame preparation.

Andrew Ziffer, a DeKalb County School Board member, said the district faces about $2 billion in deferred maintenance across the system. He said stadium upgrades will often rank below roofs, air conditioning and classroom needs.

What comes next for Seacrest Stadium

Reporter Newspapers says the two agreements approved on Nov. 9 cover terms with the contractor, BlueGold Construction Management LLC/Fortune-Johnson LLC, and a sponsorship development agreement between the school board and the community association. Groundbreaking ceremonies are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Officials say the stadium is expected to open for football games in August 2027, in time for the 2027 season. Organizers say it would give the school its first true home game and could allow the Wildcats to host a playoff game for the first time in program history. The team finished the 2026 regular season 8-2 and earned the No. 21 seed in the GHSA Class 6A state playoffs, according to USA Today.

What we know so far: county approval is in place, construction is slated to begin in late November, and the stadium is targeted for the 2027 season.

Note: Figures for seating and project cost are reported differently across outlets and have not been reconciled by officials in the reports available to us.