‘We have waited so long.’ Pacelli breaks ground on million-dollar athletics field upgrade
St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School broke ground on a million-dollar athletics facilities upgrade Tuesday.
Phase one of the renovations to Deimel Field, at which the school’s baseball, football and soccer teams play their home games, will include the installation of synthetic turf field by FieldTurf.
Phase one will cost $1,353,463, according to a release from the school, and will be paid for with donations collected via St. Anne Catholic Church’s and St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School’s Building on Tradition: A Vision for the Future Capital campaign.
“We have waited so long for this field,” St. Anne Church Pastor Father Robert Schlageter, said Tuesday. “It’s an essential part of our program, because this field is all we have, and it’s used by three different sports. With artificial turf, it’s going to be safer because there won’t be ridges all over the place, it’s going to look better and it’s going to be able to be practiced and played on over and over again.”
The field will be marked for football, soccer and baseball, and include the school’s logo. Other enhancements in phase one include a new baseball backstop between dugouts; goal posts; soccer goals; baseball clay mound; foul poles; home plate; and fencing with gates around the field’s perimeter.
Phase two of the renovation to the athletic complex includes the replacement of spectator seating, new lighting, an upgraded concession stand, new scoreboards, and the remodeling of restrooms.
So far, over $200,000 of the $600,000 needed for the renovations’ second phase has been collected or pledged.
“Not only will these fields be utilized by the Vikings and Lady Vikings sports teams, but all Vikings will benefit from the expanded use of our outdoor space during recess, PE and Field Day,” Pacelli Athletic Director Corry Black said.
The school anticipates phase one of the Deimel Field renovation to be finished by the first day of the 2020-2021 school year.
