Lights On! Game On!

With the flick of a switch, history was made at Northgate High School.

About 6:20 p.m. Friday, the permanent lights were switched on for the first time at the Broncos' stadium.

A capacity crowd cheered as a goal was finally reached that began 12 years ago, when the Northgate Community Pride Foundation was formed.

 "I never thought we would see this day," said City Councilman Gary Skrel, a co-founder of the foundation. "It shows the strength of this community. It's a cool night."

The four 80-foot high, 72,000-watt lights have been opposed by the neighbors across the street from the stadium.  They say nighttime football creates noise, traffic and excess light.

Attorneys for the neighbors and for the school district have been meeting, trying to come up with ways to mitigate the effects of the stadium lighting.

 However, the students, players, school officials and parents saw only the bright side of Friday night's game.

 "I'm very glad Northgate finally has its lights," said Mt. Diablo school board President Paul Strange. "Every high school should be able to do this."

There were 500 bleacher seats available for this game. They were all filled and dozens of other spectators stood along the fence.

Next year, the foundation hopes to expand the seating to 1,500. Of that, 1,000 seats would be on the home side of the field closest to the school with another 500 on the visiting side.