wellesley track field 2014 makeover — Field gets a makeover in summer of 2014

The Wellesley Playing Fields Task Force (PFTF) on Monday night will attempt to get the Board of Selectmen’s initial blessing for a plan to build a new turf field and replace the aging track on the site of the existing stadium near Wellesley High School.

The artificial turf, like that at the Sprague fields, would far better withstand rough weather than the current grass at the high school football stadium and allow for more use by youth sports and team practices. This would help fill the “three field gap” the town faces, according to the PFTF. The plan calls for a field and track reconfiguration, including a wider field that would support not only football, but MIAA field hockey, lacrosse and soccer. Such a project would likely cost more than $2 million.

But for starters, the task force is just looking to get a positive reception from the Board of Selectmen so that it can convince the Community Preservation Committee to part with funds for a design study of the proposed stadium. If a stadium plan is approve following the design study,, efforts would then kick in on funding, most likely with a plan to divvy things up between the town, community preservation and private sources.

The initial plan does not call for a stadium with lights, thus avoiding possible neighborhood protests on that front.

If any of this rings a bell, that’s probably because a Wellesley High School Stadium Task Force presented a proposal to the School Committee for a stadium makeover back in February 2013, but that ambitious effort fizzled while the town was waiting for the completion of the purchase of 900 Worcester St., and a prioritization of the possible field work by the PFTF. As part of the North 40 analysis, PFTF completed this work and identified improving the field next to the high school as the #1 priority in town. Improving this field will not only add field capacity, but also reduce cross-town traffic on weekday afternoons, generate more revenue for the school athletic department, and create a better “home field” for the town’s teams. This project has been researched since 2009 when the Geller Report identified turfing and improving the stadium as one of its recommendations to improve the Hunnewell fields.