The wait is over

COSTA MESA — Jim Scott Jr. had a homecoming of sorts Friday night at the new stadium at Estancia High School.

The stadium, which broke ground last year and had its dedication this spring, resides on the same field where Scott — the son of Jim Scott Stadium’s namesake — played Pop Warner football as a child. When the younger Scott took the microphone during Friday’s halftime ceremony, however, he noted that he wasn’t the only person who had waited a long time for the gleaming new venue.

“It took 13 years to get to this point in time,” Scott said, referring to the years Costa Mesa United, the grass-roots group cofounded by his father, spent raising money and support for the stadium. “So if you’re a senior, we started when you were in the first grade.”

Jim Scott Stadium was the first project completed under Measure F, the $282-million school bond that seeks to renovate and modernize every campus in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Over the last two years, the stadium has had a number of milestones, from groundbreaking to dedication to the opening of Costa Mesa Pop Warner’s new season in August.

Friday, though, marked the first high school football game played at Jim Scott Stadium — and while the Estancia Eagles were trouncing Bolsa Grande High School 20-6 at halftime, it was a night for celebration regardless of the score. Hundreds of people packed the home side of the stadium, while Estancia Principal Phil D’Agostino called members of Costa Mesa United, the Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club and the school’s football boosters club onto the field for recognition.

“The thing you notice about Estancia is how strong the community is,” Tom Antal, the former principal of Estancia and a member of Costa Mesa United, said before the ceremony. “You see as many adults in the stands as kids, which is unique. You see people who haven’t had kids here for years.”

As spectators filed into the stadium, they passed a series of bricks on the wall featuring the names of donors to Costa Mesa United. The names proved that the stadium isn’t just a source of pride for Costa Mesa — among the donors were Newport Coast Elementary School, the Lincoln Elementary School PTA and the Corona del Mar High School swimming program.

Still, Rick Kapko, the treasurer of Costa Mesa United, didn’t think the excitement over the stadium had reached its peak yet.

“The thing I worry about is, will we have enough seating when we play Costa Mesa High School?” he said. “I guess we’ll have to put more stands in.”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.