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Local schools feel impact from postponement of preseason football games

Posted at 11:10 PM, Aug 15, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-16 00:35:02-04

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- Fox 4 interviewed a parent with children who play football for Bonita Springs High School. She shared how frustrating it has been since football scrimmages have been canceled for Friday.

“It’s very frustrating, they are very dedicated to their sport they practiced every day this summer, with the exception of Sundays, they really put a lot of dedication and time into it," said Amy Keenum, parent of players from Bonita Springs High School.

Five Lee County Public School pre-season football games were scheduled for Friday night, but everyone will be on the bench.

“And we didn’t really know that until yesterday, so all the expectation and all the anticipation was kind of shot down,” said Keenum.

It's not just about the game, there's money behind it. Every high school in Lee County has an athletic budget of about $50,000. Lee County schools says $8,000 of that is spent on new football helmets alone.

Home football games also raise a lot of money for the athletic department. A former booster club parent tells Fox 4 concessions bring in anywhere from $2,500 to $3,000 each home game.

“This is everything for some kids everything, some kids future’s are on the line, so we hope it gets resolved,” said Keenum.

Lee County public high schools will not have any home preseason football games Friday night because of an ongoing pay dispute with referees.