News Staff Reporter
The Choate Rosemary Hall administration has begun the process of mapping out four new athletic projects, with the building of a new all-weather track being a top priority.
According to Director of Athletics Ned Gallagher, the track-and-field project has been estimated at a cost $2.5 million. An anonymous donor has made the largest contribution to the project, giving Choate $1.5 million to go towards the building of the track. Although the cost is now marked to be around $2.5 million, Mr. Gallagher explained that while it “is probably a high number, we think it is going to come in less than that.”
At this point, the new track will most likely be placed in the location of the old track, with the old track being torn down, and part of the hill being leveled out in order to meet the larger width. It will be a full-size, eight lane track that will withstand any type of weather. The fact that it will be an all weather track is key, according to Mr. Gallagher, because, “We have a lot of trouble getting our track ready for use just because of foul weather.” Because the track will have eight lanes, Choate will be able to host full track-and field events such as the Founders League and New England championships.
The addition of a new track is a topic that has been discussed for a long time at Choate. The idea has been around “longer than I’ve been here, and I have been here almost 20 years,” stated Mr. Gallagher. “We’ve had serious conversations about it for probably thirty years or more.” Mr. John Burditt, Vice President of Finance and Administration, explained that “serious study of the issue [of a new track] began last spring with the hiring of consultants to help us work out a master plan for all of our outdoor athletics facilities.”
The Master Plan is normally drafted every decade to ensure a proper roadmap of the school’s physical plant. The current Master Plan, of which the athletic improvements are a part, has yet to be finalized. The Board of Trustees was to vote on the new Master Plan during its January meeting, but postponed the vote to a later date.
A new track will help complete Choate athletics facilities. Mr. Gallagher elaborated, “It is long overdue. We’re excited that this is finally going to take place. We feel it is probably the most obvious shortcoming in the current array of athletic facilities.” Indeed, the current track was built in the 1930s and uses gravel as its surface.
A new track is only one of the new athletics projects that have been proposed for the next two to eight years, part of the pending master plan. The Athletics Department is considering a double size artificial turf field, which, although it would be used mainly for field hockey and lacrosse, could be used by almost any outdoor sport. One of the advantages to a turf field is that “we could have a lot of teams practice on it in foul weather,” according to Mr. Gallagher. Lights are another option that is being explored for the artificial turf field. In addition, the Athletics Department hopes to upgrade McGuire North. In doing so, JV Baseball will be able to relocate to McGuire North in order to accommodate the new turf fields. The Athletics Department also hopes to build a new cross country course on upper campus.
All of the new athletics projects are still in the preliminary phase, which means that they are still pending approval from the Choate Board of Trustees as part of the master plan. According to Mr. Gallagher, “We’re not even past the concepts design phase. Once we get the go-ahead and the money comes in, we’ll actually design it, and that’s when you get down to the particulars.”
Because the new building projects are in the early stages, there is no definite time for when they will be ready. However, Mr. Gallagher is optimistic that the track will be completed soon, stating, “It [the actual building] could happen very soon...I think there are students here now who will see it before they graduate.”
