DUNWOODY, GA — Dunwoody High School’s expanded stadium will be named after its most famous alum, longtime television and radio host Ryan Seacrest.

The DeKalb County School Board has approved the naming, and community leaders are working to raise $1.5 million to expand the stadium so it can host varsity sports, including football.

School board member Andrew Ziffer says the effort is driven by parents, faculty and supporters, not taxpayers. He states, “this is not going to be expensive to the school district. This is not going to be expensive to our taxpayers, this is a community led effort, a community fundraising effort.”

According to Ziffer, Seacrest, who played football at Dunwoody before graduating in the 1990s and his family have been key supporters of the effort.

He notes the entertainer’s late father, Gary Seacrest, played a key role in early planning, stating, “Gary Seacrest was involved with Dunwoody leadership talking to them and he was involved in all of the initial conversations to make this happen this year.”

The school hopes attaching Seacrest’s name will help boost momentum to reach its fundraising goal by early next year. Ziffer says Seacrest is expected to pledge a contribution to help make the expansion possible.

Principal Tom Bass says the expanded Seacrest Stadium will give the Wildcats a true home-field advantage. Ziffer adds, “Dunwoody High School will finally be able to have home games at its own stadium.”

WSB Radio’s Bill Caiaccio contributed to this story.