Medford Gets 500k State Grant for Hormel Stadium

Medford has received a $500,000 grant from the state to install a turf field at Hormel Stadium.

Rick Sullivan, State Secretary of Environment and Energy, appeared at Medford High School Monday afternoon to announce the grant in a news conference.

“It’s happening, quite frankly, because the plans are done," Sullivan said. "The city has spent the money, they have put their partners together….it is ready to go.”

The renovations, estimated to total about $1 million, will replace the current grass field with synthetic turf, re-surface the track and replace the scoreboard, Mayor Michael McGlynn said. The city aims to have the project completed by the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.

The city has been trying to obtain grants and private partnerships to fund stadium renovations for the last six years, McGlynn said. The city had a turf field installed at Edgerly Field behind the high school last year, and LoConte Rink has received renovations the summer. The renovations to Hormel will give Medford premier athletic facilities, McGlynn said.

"We will have one of the best recreation departments around,” he said.

Edgerly Field - often referred to as "the Field of Dreams" - has already proven to be a money-maker through rentals, McGlynn said, and given the 2,500-seat capacity at Hormel Stadium, the lights and locker room, it is expected to be a revenue source for the city.

"Once it's done...it's going to generate a lot of money for us," McGlynn said.

The grant comes from the Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities program established by Gov. Deval Patrick, which focuses on parkland improvement projects, mainly in cities, Sullivan said.

"The municipal fields and open spaces that are in cities are just as important and, in many cases, more important than the much wider open spaces that you find in the western part of the state," Sullivan said.

Superintendent Roy Belson thanked Sullivan for the grant.

“It’s terrific for all of us to have this kind of facility coming forward,” Belson said.