Hoping to benefit multiple sports and teams by the spring of 2025, the high school plans to add a brand new turf field to the front of the campus, allowing more space for all teams to utilize.
According to Principal Sam Varano, the new field’s “primary origins,” go back 20 years, when there was a hope to host all sports teams on campus.
The new field will benefit many sports but specifically, the baseball team, which currently practices and plays games off campus.
“We are bussing student athletes to the Harleysville baseball fields, so this is an opportunity to get them back on campus,” Athletic Director Dennis Stanton said.
Baseball player Connor Klock said this new field is going to benefit the team greatly.
“We never had a field on campus so it was hard to get a lot of people to come to games,” Klock said. “With the field being at the school we can have more students there, which I think could give us an edge in closer games.”
The field will add the additional benefit of “freeing up space,” according to Stanton.
“Having that extra space out there is going to free up space inside the building,” Stanton said.
Other sports teams also see the new field as an opportunity.
“When we have 1,300 student athletes and 28 sports, we have a lot of people who want to use that stadium. So, it will really help provide opportunities for everyone,” Stanton said.
Lacrosse player Adriannah Petrovitch said the turf will allow her team more time to work.
“The new field will allow us more practice time to improve the performance of our team and players,” Petrovitch said.
Teams will be able to play games on the field even in the darker hours due to the installation of lights. “It allows junior varsity baseball to play at 3:30 p.m., and varsity at 6:30 p.m.,” Stanton said.
These benefits from the new field will expand beyond sports teams.
They will be accessible to clubs and activities, like the marchng band, according to Varano. “I’m really excited about the band’s benefit from it,” Varano said.
Administration is hoping the marching band and sports teams can use the field by the spring of this year “weather permitted,” Stanton said. “We are still working on getting a few permits, but if the weather holds up it will be on track.”
Baseball players are hoping that having the ability to play on turf, rather than dirt, will be an “overall better experience for the team,” Klock said. “On turf we will get true hops.”