By John Orrell, Contributing Writer
Marlborough – Over the past several years there have been improvements to the school’s baseball and softball fields, tennis courts and outdoor basketball courts and more but now a new and final phase to its sports facilities renovations is about to get underway.
Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School officials are now turning their attention to long-overdue renovations to the football field, track areas and bleachers that are in significant disrepair and in some cases, may pose safety concerns. Additional parking adjacent to the field will also be included in the plans moving forward.
A feasibility study conducted approximately three years ago studied all aspects of existing athletic spaces and determined a number of needs to the existing facilities that were originally constructed in 1973. Since then, only minor repairs have occurred which can no longer continue, according to Kris Kuoto, director of business operations.
“We have been looking at increasingly deteriorating conditions. Maintenance has been challenging, especially on the track which is basically stone dust. That kind of footing can actually be dangerous so we’re most anxious to fix that. The wood in the bleachers is so old and rotting and we have to fix that at least once every year. If it stays like this much longer, it will likely be condemned.”
Renovations to the football field, track and bleachers are estimated to cost $3 million with the majority of funds to finance the project hopefully coming through the development of private/ public partnerships between the school and area business entities. None of the membership towns (Hudson, Marlborough, Northborough, Southborough, Berlin, Westborough and Maynard) will be assessed to cover the project’s expense.
“Public money is hard to come by these days,” said Kuoto. “That’s why we’re hopeful that partnerships can help with the funding. We also expect to seek money through naming rights and selling bricks that people can buy to support the project.”
Officials are currently working with the city of Marlborough to gain approval of permits with the goal of putting the project out to bid later this month. Construction is projected to begin in April with completion in time for the 2017-2018 school year.
The natural grass football field is expected to be replaced by synthetic turf while the four-lane stone dust track will be replaced by a new eight-lane rubberized track that will be more conducive to running stability for athletes. Debate on synthetic versus grass can be contentious but not so with this project.
“The turf decision was never really an issue,” said Kuoto. “It gives a huge benefit to football and other sports having such a greater lifespan and less maintenance. I expect that more of our teams will benefit from it once we have it in.”
