The long-held dream of many in the New Hope-Solebury School District for a full-fledged stadium is getting closer and closer to reality.
A recent soiree at the River House at Odette’s in New Hope raised $105,000, leaving the NH-S community only $100,000 short of the $1.2 million capital campaign goal. When the remaining money has been raised, it will be combined with $1.2 million from the school district’s budget and used to build some major new amenities at the NH-S main outdoor athletic facility just off Bridge Street next to the high school to make it a complete stadium.
Planned are a field house with permanent restrooms, a concession area with snacks and beverages and home and visiting team rooms; a raised press box and additional spectator stands on the side of the field that already has some. The side of the field without stands will remain that way because remediating some steep slopes to make room for stands would be cost prohibitive, District Operations Director Scott Radaszkiewicz said. He, NH-S Superintendent Charles Lentz and Community Engagement and Public Relations Manager Stephanie Yoder sat down for a recent interview on stadium progress at the district administrative offices.
“I think it’s going incredibly well,” said Lentz. “I think it has exceeded expectations for a district that has never really engaged in any kind of capital (fundraising) campaign. This is a project they’ve been trying to get off the ground for 20 years. It’s amazing that we’re getting it done and are in really good shape to see it to fruition.
“There have been two other attempts prior to this where they were going to build a stadium we’re working to build now, and they couldn’t get it done. Now, to be able to bring it to fruition is remarkable.”
The recent soiree at Odette’s, of which Yoder was one of the main organizers, was attended by 200 and deemed a great success by all involved. Honored at the event was Carl Asplundh Jr., one of the owners of the Asplundh Tree Expert Co. He had previously given the capital fundraising campaign a tremendous boost by contributing $750,000.
With the estimated amount of money needed to complete the stadium so close to being at hand, Radaszkiewicz said the hope is to go out to bid on the project by May, start construction fairly soon after that and finish in the spring or early summer of 2024. True costs of the project won’t be known until bids come back.
The incomplete stadium has existed at the site for many years and for most of those years consisted of a grass field, track, lighting and spectator stands on one side. Using $1.5 million of its own money from the school district budget, NH-S made some major improvements by installing a new track and replacing the grass field with synthetic turf, projects that were completed in the summer of last year.
School district officials had long planned to put permanent restrooms at the athletic complex and had put money aside for that purpose, Radaszkiewicz explained. When feedback from residents indicated that they wanted to see permanent restrooms as part of a larger field house that also included a concession area and team rooms, NH-S reached out to the community to see if it would be willing to pay for the extras with contributions on top of the taxes residents already pay the district. The answer, judging from the results of the fundraising campaign, has been a resounding yes.
Yoder said a lot of credit should be given to a stadium committee that was formed to help guide the project and fundraising.
“In my mind, this is something that has been needed for a long time,” Radaszkiewicz said. “The work Stephanie has put in to find additional donors has been amazing. It’s a great feeling to have the community come out and support this so well.”
Lentz said the generosity shown by parents and other residents in donating for the stadium and also a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) Lab for NH-S has kind of ushered in a new era for the school district.
“That’s been one of the nice parts of this process,” he said. “It’s developing a culture of philanthropy, with the community giving back and supporting the district’s efforts.”
To donate to the fundraising campaign for the stadium, visit nhsd.org/stadium.
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