Master Plan Update: Athletics and Outdoor Areas
The external aspects of the campus will see changes as a result of the master plan, with additions ranging from a three sport stadium to a grotto.
“In the athletic realm, to be competitive, and to provide the best possible sports programs, we could use new fields; we could use turf for three sports,” said President Richard O’Hara.
“We’re looking at a new stadium, hopefully with artificial turf,” said Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees Sister Mary Helen Beirne.
According to O’Hara, the stadium will be placed where the field hockey and tennis fields are now, and the current football field will be used as a practice field.
“It would be helpful also from the standpoint of income for the school to rent it [the stadium] to other groups,” said O’Hara.
Permanent lights will also be included in the stadium, according to O’Hara.
About the stadium, Athletic Director Larry Dukes said, “Having a turf field gives us a lot of flexibility in scheduling games. It would limit [the amount of] cancelled practices because of the drainage capabilities of a turf field.”
The plan then “looks at current fields, some of which will become practice fields,” said Sr. Beirne. “The track would stay in the same location.”
However, “Turf is not in the immediate plan for the other fields,” said O’Hara.
Sr. Beirne said, “Eventually, all [fields] will be looked at. Everything will be looked at to make sure it is in top shape.”
Even with such changes to the playing fields, not much will likely be attempted in the internal athletic facilities. Sr. Beirne doesn’t “know how much the gym will be impacted” because “of changes done recently internally,” referring to the 2004-2005 lower gym modernization.
Dukes still sees a need for some updates inside he building: “I want to see the downstairs locker rooms and training and storage areas [modernized] because that’s a place where today we are in the greatest need.”
In addition, there is a “gathering area” for alumni envisioned, called the “Patriot Plaza.”
“The Patriot Plaza is one concept, when we were putting all the thoughts and ideas together, that we’d love to see. It was one of the ideas that really stuck,” said O’Hara.
The plaza would be set off of the new stadium.
“We saw this as a gathering area for alumni. We thought this could be where the athletic hall of fame is; it could be an area there where the names of the hall of fame alumni are displayed. There would be a flag court there,” said O’Hara.
The area was seen as “a potential gathering area to welcome alums back if they want to see games or come to events at school,” said O’Hara.
However, said O’Hara, the specific details are not known because “we’re not at the design stage, so they’re just general concepts.”
According to O’Hara, this fits with “one of the themes of the master plan, which is to create more spaces for people to be together.”
To reach the school building, there will be a walkway to the front of the school, and a “promenade” to the stadium around the statue of John Carroll, according to O’Hara.
To enter the parking lots, there will be a “roundabout with a statue of John Carroll” where the crosswalk between the student parking lot and the oval currently are located, said O’Hara.
At the back of the upper pond, in a “natural rise” in the landscape, there is a plan for a Grotto to the Blessed Mother. O’Hara hopes that it will be “life sized or bigger, so when you’re up here at school, you’ll be able to see it.”
“It would be a prayer area; it could be for retreats, you could almost get married out there. [Students] could come and light candles before exams,” said O’Hara on the uses of the grotto.
Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected].
“The Patriot has already broken down several aspects of the school’s proposes master plan. Check out the previous installments below and stay tuned for news regarding the master plan.
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