Away No More: GRHS Multi-purpose Field Ready for Oct. 15 Game

Many Glen Rock teen athletes will soon be getting their first taste of home field advantage since 2010.

According to school officials at Monday night's board meeting, the multi-purpose field at the high school is expected to be ready for the boys soccer game on Monday, Oct. 15.

The girls team, which hasn't played a game at home in two years, should be able to get a Glen Rock welcome the following day. The big football game against Hawthorne on Friday for Homecoming Weekend also looms large.

The fields were initially expected to open on Sept. 15.

School officials approved a referendum-related plan to add turf to both the multi-purpose field and the lower soccer field, along with a replacement of the track, in the spring. Among the major sticking points of the project was the addition of a drainage system that would prevent the fields from being inundanted with water during even normal amounts of rainfall.

The work has hit its fair share of snags in recent months. Weather during the summer slowed down work and then it was discovered a sizable amount of "unsuitable soil" would further delay the timetable. The project has ballooned in cost from $3.5 million to $4.2 million with approved change orders.

According to trustee and operations committee chair Carlo Cella, if all goes well the lower soccer field could be opened in late October or early November.

Work on the baseball field (replacing much of the infield sod) will begin once the lower soccer field is set up, he said. The board still has to vote separately if it intends to replace the outfield sod, along with assorted other improvement requests at the baseball field.

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