Bruins Stadium, the home of North Bergen High School football as well as several other sports and recreation activities, stands to receive an estimated $1.4 million restoration and refurbishing, if the township’s application for Green Acres funds and loans is approved by the state.
According to Vince Ascolese, the assistant superintendent for the North Bergen Board of Education, the playing field at Bruins Stadium would become a state-of-the-art artificial synthetic turf surface, a polyethylene base with grass-like fibers, a popular surface that is used at colleges like Penn State University and at local high schools like Bergen Catholic, Ridgefield and Cliffside Park.
In addition to the improvements to the main playing surface, the main running track, which was last restored when massive renovations took place in 1983, would also get an overhaul. The track now has dips and divots that prevent any high school track meets from being held at the site.
The improvements will include a new long jump pit, a high jump pit and a pole vault area.
Ascolese, who is also the long-time head coach of the high school football team, did the research to find if it was feasible to put the artificial turf down at the stadium.
“We went out and got specifics to see what it would entail to get the turf,” Ascolese said. “We also presented a cost analysis plan.”
From there, Barbara Lawton of The Funding Group of Montclair, the grant writing organization hired by the township, handled the Green Acres application for the $1.4 million project.
Grant writer Lawton, who has 15 years of experience filing Green Acres applications, said that the area is applicable because it is in an urban area, it is a heavily used facility by several neighboring municipalities and it serves as a multi-purpose facility.
Other than football and track and field, a newly refurbished Bruins Stadium would be able to handle the high volume of action that soccer games produce.
“The facility would be in constant use,” Lawton said.
Lawton was asked if she anticipated a problem that the state might balk on a Green Acres project that would feature an artificial turf field.
“I’ve spoken with people involved with the Green Acres program in Trenton several times and they encouraged me to file the application,” Lawton said. “Since we filed the application, no problems have ever been mentioned. Green Acres funds have been used for renovations at the site before. Green Acres has been supportive of urban counties and have come through with the necessary funding.”
Renovation and restoration to Bruins Stadium would also cut down on general maintenance costs. It is believed that nearly $75,000 is spent annually to replace damaged sod and damaged water sprinkler caps.
“It costs $30,000 to fix the sprinkler system alone,” Lawton said. “That doesn’t include other regular maintenance.”
If approved, nearly half of the $1.4 million will come in the form of a grant and the other half will come in a low-interest (2 percent annually) loan, repayable over 20 years.
“This is really an attempt to fix the facility,” Lawton said. “The track was unusable for competition and the main field will feature the newest turf that is safe and durable and relatively inexpensive.”
Both Lawton and Ascolese praised the efforts of Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who has fully supported the project and has actually did some of the cost analysis research as well.
If the township receives approval of the Green Acres application, work could begin on the project after the close of the 2002 high school football season.