McCaskey High School football will play home varsity games at Lancaster Catholic High School’s Crusader Stadium during the 2025 season due to construction at its stadium complex, the School District of Lancaster announced.
Varsity games against John Bartram on Aug. 22 (7 p.m.), Conestoga Valley on Aug. 30 (10 a.m.), Reading on Oct. 4 (4 p.m.) and Wilson on Oct. 17 (7 p.m.), McCaskey’s homecoming, will be played at the alternate venue. The Red Tornado will play previously-scheduled home games on the road at Hempfield (Sept. 12) and Manheim Township (Sept. 26) due to stadium capacity concerns. Junior varsity and freshman football will play all games on the road.
Lancaster Catholic’s Crusader Stadium has a capacity of about 2,000, or a little more than a third of McCaskey’s Penn Medicine Stadium.
As a result, there will be no walk-up ticket sales on game days. All tickets, including for visiting fans, must be purchased in advance online or in person at the McCaskey athletic office. An allotment of tickets will be provided to families of McCaskey student participants, including band, cheerleading, and football. Senior gold cards will be honored. More details on ticket information will be announced closer to the start of the season.
McCaskey will implement the same safety protocols and security screenings as it does in its sports complex. The stands at Crusader Stadium are fully wheelchair accessible.
“We are grateful to Lancaster Catholic for this partnership and their willingness to host our band, cheerleaders, and football team for these ‘home’ games,” McCaskey athletic director Teasia Pena said. “We also appreciate the patience and understanding of our community as we work to build championship-caliber facilities worthy of our student-athletes.”
Penn Medicine Stadium at the Barney Ewell Sports Complex on Tornado Alley is undergoing a $10 million renovation which includes a synthetic turf field, new team rooms, new press box, athlete training facilities, and improved fan amenities. The project is scheduled to be complete in time for the 2026 season.
McCaskey football this year begins the Todd Mealy era, as the former Penn Manor and Lancaster Catholic coach takes the reins of the Red Tornado. Mealy, who teaches social studies at McCaskey, is a three-time Lancaster-Lebanon League coach of the year.