That all changed last Friday afternoon.

The Falcons opened the 2004 season at home on Sept. 10 against Leigh—on their newly surfaced home football field on the Saratoga High School campus.

In an effort spearheaded and funded by Saratoga alumni and community members, money was raised to completely renovate the athletic fields at the school. In addition to the new state-of-the-art synthetic surface on the football field, the school improved its upper fields and softball facility.

All of the fields were in disarray and in need of repair. But the focal point was the school's football field which did not and never had been a suitable facility for a home game.

Ever since the school opened 1959, the Falcons had traveled to Los Gatos to play their home games under the lights at Helm Field. That meant that often the Falcons would have to play on Saturday nights when the Wildcats played at home on a Friday.

That's the way it was when Benny Pierce first started the program with a junior varsity team in the fall of 1959, when he led the program to its glory days in the 1960s and '70s, and when current coaches Kurt Heinrich, Kevin Tanner and Marko Trapani played for the Pierce-coached team in 1980 that posted a 13-0 record and won the Central Coast Section championship.

Even when the facility was named "Benny Pierce Field" in the years that followed it was still only used for practices and scrimmages.

But last Friday afternoon, Benny Pierce Field came to life, and Pierce was there to see it happen.

"I think it's a great field," said a smiling Pierce. "It improves the facility tremendously and it's great for the community because so many people will use it."

It's more than a football stadium. The field is also permanently lined for soccer; field hockey games can be played there; and the band now has a quality facility for practice and competition.

"We like it ... we're going to keep it," quipped Karen Hyde, Saratoga assistant principal, prior to Friday's game.

"It's exciting," she added. "Between this and the [Performing Arts and Lecture Center], we're going to be a real high school."

"It's huge," said Jeff Walker, Saratoga athletic director. "Our goal in the last couple of years has been to bring home games back to Saratoga. It promotes school spirit, a sense of pride—this is our field."

And no one appreciates that more than the football coaching staff.

"It's fantastic," said Heinrich, the Saratoga head football coach. "It's as good as anywhere. And all the sports will use it—that's what's so great about it."

Beyond the high school activities, the local Pop Warner Football organization is also using the field for its games. And all because a Saratoga graduate and assistant coach saw a need.

"Kevin Tanner was the lead dog in putting this thing together," said Heinrich of his high school teammate and assistant coach. "He was able to raise money from former players and concerned residents. Kevin deserves a lot of credit."

"He really spearheaded it," said Pierce of Tanner. "He contacted a lot of people. It's great to have people in the community who support the programs for all the kids."

Tanner, though, downplays his role and that of the benefactors, indicating that all had hoped the gesture would be anonymous. Still, he saw a need and started the ball rolling.

"All of the athletic facilities at the high school have been neglected for years," said Tanner. "The football field was 20 to 30 percent dirt. We'd have to practice from the sideline to the middle of the field, just trying to find a green patch of grass."

"There was just no money available through the district," he added. "No one wanted to float a bond, and even if they did, it would end up in the classrooms instead of athletics."

So Tanner went to work, and so did Kevin Skelly, Saratoga's principal at the time.

"He cleared the road," said Heinrich of Skelly.

"I knew some people who were very generous and fortunate to be in a position where they could help us," said Tanner. "I got together with Kevin [Skelly] and Karen [Hyde]; we got a little money together to draw the plans up and I approached the people I knew."

Serious meetings began early in 2003. And by 2004 construction was well under way. The football field, upper fields and softball field were first on the list for renovation, and Tanner hopes the baseball diamond and football bleachers can come next.

"I'm about as excited about the upper field and have a designated softball field as I am about the football field," said Tanner. "We've never had a regulation soccer field—now we have two."

But the focal point of the project is the new football field.

"The kids love it, they love playing on it," said Walker. "And it's the best looking surface around."

"It's very exciting," added Tanner. "These fields, turf fields, are so much better than what existed 15 years ago. We now have a high quality facility that's going to be used by everybody. And it all pretty much started because there was a need."

Tanner and Saratoga's benefactors fulfilled that need with private donations, and the community is realizing the benefits.

"It just feels right," said Hyde, who hopes to see the marching band lead a parade across the campus to the new field prior to the Sept. 17, 3:15 p.m., home game against Pioneer. "This is where we're supposed to be. It's right for the kids."

After 45 years, Saratoga is finally home.