Bridgewater Patch

- June 21, 2011

Years of Planning Finally Yields New Turf Field

After what amounted to years of planning, the Bridgewater Soccer Association [BSA] and Bridgewater Lacrosse, in connection with the board of education and school district, celebrated the ribbon cutting of the new $500,000 turf field at Basilone Field.

“This is the perfect example of shared services,” Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder said during the ceremony Thursday. “It’s the perfect example of a partnership between the community and the schools.”

The turf field has been under construction since December when the board of education accepted a donation from the BSA and Bridgewater Lacrosse for $500,000 to build it.

“This was a collective effort by everyone,” said board of education member Arvind Mathur. “I know it is difficult to generate funds, but we did it one burger at a time.”

“It is persistence that kept this going, and if you had asked me last year, I would have said it wouldn’t happen,” he added. “I want to thank the associations for giving this gift.”

Tim Kassel, president of the BSA, said they had originally, several years ago, been preparing to re-turf the current field to improve it for the teams. But, he said, instead they decided to see about building a new field with Bridgewater Lacrosse.

“We put our resources together to make sure it got built,” he said. “We sat down with Bridgewater Lacrosse and said maybe we should talk to the board of education.”

“We thought it was important to do something for the community,” he added.

From there, Kassel said, they moved forward with the construction, and now the students are excited to be able to use the new field that is the newest since one was built in the early 1990s.

“When the kids got on the field for the first time, that’s when the reaction came that it’s really here,” he said.

Chuck Apel, director of Bridgewater Lacrosse, said the project came together quickly once it was approved by the board of education.

And now, Apel said, the students have a new field to play on with soft and bouncy turf that is more similar to what they are used to playing on at other schools.

“After about six to seven years of use, the field loses its elasticity,” he said. “This is soft and bounces differently than other turf.”

The field itself is about 120 yards by 80 yards, and Apel said more than one team can play at the same time.

The money to pay for the new field came from tournaments played by both the BSA and Bridgewater Lacrosse.

Apel said there is a lacrosse tournament every summer through which the organization earns money for such projects as new fields, and Kassel said the BSA makes money through soccer tournaments each year.

Each organization paid $295,000 for the building of the field.

And particularly with the weather over the last few months, and the excessive amounts of rain, both Apel and Kassel said the new turf field would be a huge benefit. The turf fields, they said, don’t get muddy so games and practices can be held after it rains.

“This past spring has been really tough on us,” Kassel said. “A grass field is a big disadvantage because it is so weather dependent.”

“The teams had it tough because of the rain,” Apel added. “Next year they will be able to get out more.”

As several kids took to the field during the ribbon cutting ceremony just to play their own game on the new turf field, those who made the field happen said they are excited about the opportunity to play on it.

“This is exactly what we envisioned when we started,” Apel said. “This will be a phenomenal facility over the years.”