T-Mobile has revealed the Top 25 finalist for its Friday Night 5G Lights social media sweepstakes and Dierks High School has advanced and is now in the running for a “game-changing” stadium makeover.
Dierks’ advancement as a finalist will come with a $25,000 check to be presented during a special event on Friday, Oct. 3 hosted by T-Mobile at Outlaw Stadium.
Dierks is the only school in Arkansas to qualify for the sweepstakes which will include a $1 million field upgrade and a renovated weight room from Gronk Fitness, a consulation with stadium experience experts, an all-expense-paid trip to the SEC championship football game for 16 school representatives and a tailgate party revealing the finalized upgrades in 2026.
Votes can be cast for DHS to win by scanning the QR code pictured here. Voting will be held through Oct. 24 on the Friday Night 5G Lights website. The community can come back every day during the time period to cast another vote for their favorite school – the more daily votes, the higher the chance of winning the grand prize being announced Oct. 30.
According to a press release from T-Mobile, “For more than 20 years, the Outlaws’ stadium has gone without upgrades, yet their town of farmers, small business owners, welders, teachers and cafeteria workers show up with pride to support the team. Winning the $1 million grand prize would do more than just replace outdated facilities – it would remind the students that they can be from a small town and still dream big.”
The school was also awarded $5,000 as part of the sweepstakes earlier this season.
“I’m not sure I can put into words what this means to these kids, this town. To be selected to move on to the Top 25 round woke something inside I’m not sure most of us even knew or would admit was in there,” said Outlaw Head Coach Paul Ernest.
Dierks teacher and cheer coach Adriana Hogg added, “The Holler is special place that holds countless memories. I cheered at this field in high school, my husband and son played football on this field. My two daughters cheered at this field. Most of the community have tons of stories about The Holler. You will find a group of men eating breakfast at our local gas station every morning telling stories about when they played football at The Holler. It is one of the oldest fields that is still being used in the state of Arkansas.”
According to information on the internet, Ayers Field was used a landing strip for small aircraft before becoming a football field.
