Crampton said he hoped his donation would help spur others to contribute.
"Once the first million's down, the second comes easier," Crampton said.
Crampton said that although he graduated from South Hagerstown High School - North High's arch rival - he felt that donating to help North High would be an overall help to the community.
"Everybody needs to look at it is as a county, not North (High) and South (High)," Crampton said.
Officials said School Stadium at South High, which is used by both high schools, is overburdened by the dual use. There were more than 70 events at School Stadium last year, said Tom Riford, executive director of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The overall fund-raising goal is $2.3 million, said John Williamson, chairman of the stadium committee of the North High Boosters Club Inc., the nonprofit organization that raises money to support athletic activities.
Williamson said the focus of the campaign up to this point has been on large donors. About 200 donations have been given to this point, 76 of which have been for $5,000 or more.
The campaign now will shift toward smaller donors to raise the remaining $1.3 million, Williamson said. He said the hope is that the stadium will be ready for use in the 2006-07 school year.
Crampton's donation was not the largest so far. Jack Metzner, president of Conservit Inc., donated $100,000 to the fund. James "Rick" Hill, president of Metropolitan Steel, pledged $100,000 in construction materials toward the project.
Greg Slick, North High's wrestling coach, has been involved in trying to bring a stadium to the school for more than 20 years. He described the most recent donation as another hurdle the community has passed.
"There's been so many hurdles that we've had to climb," Slick said. "It sounds clich, but success isn't a destiny, it's a journey."
