Just recently, a new chapter began in the history of Choate Rosemary Hall and more specifically Choate Athletics. Funds were approved by the Financial Department to build a brand new athletic venue behind the Worthington Johnson Athletic Center. This idea has been in the works for several years now, and is one of the last steps to be taken to renovate Choate’s athletics facilities. Following the additions of the weight room and the new track, this new synthetic turf field is the final piece of the puzzle in this stage of improvement the Choate Rosemary Hall athletics facilities.

During the past several years, there have been numerous issues with the quality of the athletic fields Choate uses during the spring and fall. Frequently, during heavy rains, interscholastic teams have been sidelined and unable to hold practices. If the teams were to practice during heavy rainfall, the fields would be unsuitable for the next several days. “We have had issues with our teams not being able to practice in inclement weather… so this [the new athletic field] is an idea that we’ve been kicking around for a few years,” said Athletic Director Ned Gallagher. The field would be a major advantage to teams, as they will finally be able to get in extra practice time in to be able to prepare for games. There will be no more “staying inside on a rainy day” for several Choate squads.

Players and coaches will be taking full advantage of the making of this new synthetic turf field. Many different Choate squads will use the facility, but as Gallagher said, “The prime beneficiaries of it will be field hockey and lacrosse, and the plan that we have will also incorporate football and soccer into it as well.” The field will also help the teams to stay competitive throughout the league, since artificial playing fields are becoming more and more widespread. For example, nearly all college field hockey teams now play on artificial turf. A synthetic field at Choate would greatly help field hockey players hoping to play at the next level. However there is one small downside to the building of the field. It will require the JV Baseball field to move to a new location, which may cause inconvenience to some.

With the beginning of the recent Capital Campaign came new ideas for improvements to Choate’s athletics facilities. The new field was at the top of the list and thus got a lot of attention from Richard Saltz and Dan Courcey, Choate’s Development Director. “We raised about $2.5 million for this field, from several different donors,” said Saltz, Choate’s chief financial officer. Mr. Saltz was unable to give a precise estimate of the cost of building the field, but he said these funds would almost certainly be sufficient. Much of the money raised for the field came from donors who were looking to give money specifically to Choate’s Athletic Program.

The field will be unique within the current Choate landscape. As of now, Choate is planning to build it as wide as two fields, so that two games can be played simultaneously. “We could also put down temporary lines in order to house a soccer or football games,” said Gallagher. These lines would be placed across the two fields, for the larger soccer or football fields. Seating is also another issue, because of the likelihood that several night athletic competitions may occur. “Movable seating would make much more sense in this situation,” added Gallagher. Choate has not reached that level of planning quite yet. However, permanent lights are vital with the construction of the venue. “There will be lights for sure. Permanent fixture lights,” said Gallagher. This is not as big of a job as some people would think. Construction of this field may take as little as a few months. Richard Saltz and Choate as a whole are looking into several different architects, preferably people who have extensive experience in building fields similar to our own. When asked if Choate is talking to other schools about their fields he said, “We are conferring with several other schools in this matter, to see how their experiences went with building fields and using artificial turf. We are also going to visit other schools such as Taft to see what works best.” The one aspect that has yet to be decided is the composition of the synthetic turf itself. Much research and planning has to be done in order to determine the exact type of turf that will best suit Choate’s needs.

The past decade or so has been a time of change for Choate’s athletic facilities. Numerous improvements have been made to the quality of the facilities, and this field is a final step for this stage transition.“ In the now twelve years I’ve been Athletic Director, we’ve tried to systematically improve our greatest weaknesses on the athletic front,” said Gallagher.