Redmond High School named finalist in T-Mobile contest for $1 million upgrade
Bend, Ore. (KTVZ) --- Redmond High School has been named one of 40 division finalists nationwide in T-Mobile's Friday Night 5G Lights competition, earning $25,000 and a chance to win a $1 million home field upgrade.
Selected from nearly 2,500 applicant schools across the country, Redmond High is now competing against nine other schools in the West Division to advance to the national final round.
The contest funding is slated to help upgrade the school's athletic facilities, addressing overcrowded locker rooms, limited storage space and an undersized weight room. Built nearly a century ago as the city's original high school, Redmond High's infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with larger regional schools.
Redmond previously earned $5,000 awards through T-Mobile's sweepstakes program in 2024 and 2026. Across the country, 1,000 schools received $5,000 awards through the program, including 11 schools in Oregon that received a collective $55,000 in funding.
T-Mobile will host a Home Game Celebration at Redmond High School on Friday, Oct. 23, when the Redmond Panthers take on the Bend Lava Bears. The event will feature a formal presentation of the $25,000 check.
Kyle Lavender serves as the head football coach at Redmond High School. Lavender noted that advancing in the competition will allow the football program to purchase essential new equipment and help encourage student participation in the sport.
“Winning this next round for the T-Mobile Friday Night 5G Lights contest means the world to our program,” Lavender said. “We are finally able to have the funds to update the majority of our football equipment going into the upcoming seasons. We hope with that extra money going back into our kids and their experiences, more and more kids will start coming back to football and Redmond High School. We cannot thank T-Mobile enough for their support!”
Voting for the division round opens Thursday, Oct. 8 and continues through Oct. 25. Supporters can vote once per day online at FridayNight5GLights.com or through the T-Life app.
T-Mobile will announce four division champions representing the West, Midwest, South and East divisions on Oct. 29. Each division champion will receive $250,000, a $90,000 Gronk Fitness gym upgrade and a $5,000 student leadership award. Final round voting will run from Oct. 29 through Nov. 8, with the $1 million grand prize winner announced Nov. 12.
