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The Marblehead All Sports Foundation received permission from the School Committee this week to begin phase two of the design work on the new artificial turf field at Piper Field.
The foundation has raised the funds, about $50,000, that are being paid to Huntress Associates, an Andover sports field and landscape architectural firm, to design the new field.
"So you are asking us to allow you to spend your own money," said committee member Richard Nohelty.
"That's about right," said foundation board member Steve Maxwell.
The foundation also got the School Committee's tentative blessing to begin asking local banks and businesses if they would be willing to commit to long-term agreements to fund the field construction in exchange for naming rights and advertising on the scoreboard and banners at the field.
"We believe strongly that this is where we will get a sizable portion of the money," Maxwell said.
He said the foundation has already raised about one third of the funds needed. And from preliminary conversations, the foundation is confident it will soon have tentative agreements with several local financial institutions and companies for sponsorships. Those agreements must be approved by the School Committee.
The foundation is attempting to raise $1.3 million to replace the current turf field with an artificial turf field, which would greatly expand the time football, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey teams could use the field.
The private fundraising effort began after the town rejected an override in 2010 to raise public funds to build the field.
Sponsorships Outlined
In the outline Maxwell presented the committee, one sponsor would get its name on the new 20-foot, by 8-foot scoreboard, plus six electronic announcements and two announcements by the public address announcer during games for $125,000 each year for the next 10 years.
For $50,000 each year for five years, eight companies would receive a 10-foot by 30-foot Legacy Turf Field logo, six electronic messages and two public address announcements during the games.
Two companies can sponsor the end zones with 200-foot windscreens along the end zone fence. For $50,000 each for five years, these sponsors would also get six electronic messages on the scoreboard and two announcements over the public address system each game.
And one company can sponsor the backdrop for the visitors stands. For $25,000 for five years, that sponsor would get a 100-foot windscreen, three electronic scoreboard messages and one public address announcement per game.
"We have no desire to create a field full of signs," Maxwell said.
In addition, there would be an opportunity for an even larger contribution to have the field named for a sponsoring company. But Maxwell said the name Piper Field would always be retained. So it might become "XYZ Bank Stadium at Piper Field," he said.
School Committee members had a few concerns, although they strongly supported the concept of the sponsorship plan.
No Soft or Energy Drink Sponsors
Several members noted that some companies would be excluded, such as soft drink and energy drink companies as well as sellers of alcohol, tobacco and firearms. They also objected to the foundation's plans to give season passes to the sponsors.
Some board members questioned plans to allow the sponsoring businesses to hand out coupons and promotional giveaways at games.
Superintendent Dr. Greg Maass volunteered to work with the foundation to help determine what companies would be appropriate as sponsors.
Maass suggested that the foundation consider selling pieces of the natural field turf as souvenirs in a box with a brass plaque on each. Maxwell said he thought that would be a good way to raise money.
Maxwell said the test boring on the current field found no surprises. The field slopes naturally. Contrary to the fears about the current field, the substructure has not dropped, he said.
"It is nice to be wrong," he said.
Maxwell also announced that the foundation would be holding a fundraising event at Abbot Hall on April 27. Local band Better Than Nothing will play at the event.
The Foundation is a nonprofit organization. Tax-deductible contributions can be sent to the Marblehead All Sports Foundation, Box 240, Marblehead, MA 01945 or at the group's Web site, www.marbleheadallsports.com.
jimbob
8:44 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
Remind me why this is being done now and not back when we built the high school.
Jay Welch
4:26 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Looking for sponsors? Let's have Coach Rudloff and his wife fund the remaining money. There was a production company in Marblehead last summer who was willing to pay towards a new field in exchange for using the field. Swampscott ended up with a large sum of money instead. Nice work.
Header Dad
8:29 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Jay,
Your comments are completely clueless and show you were totally ignorant. coach Rudloff had nothing to do with the decision to pass on accepting the films money in lieu of having them use our fields for the filming of the movie.
there was a special meeting held with all concerned parties and there was a vote taken to pass on accepting the money. The money the film company offered would not have been even enough to fix up the field and cover the rental of another field to play the football games last fall let alone the cost of buses to and from the other field for practices and games. please check your facts before making such outlandish assertions.
and by the way I am NOT coach Rudloff nor does my son play for him
Reasoning
7:27 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Header Dad - Actually, Jay has the facts correct. Coach Rudloff as well as Athletic Director Tarmey both spoke in opposition to allowing filming at the field. There was no vote taken at that meeting but low and behold a couple of days later, the film company withdrew their need to film at Piper Field. The money intended to fix Piper Field went next door to Swampscott.
Header Dad
10:34 am on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Reasoning
I stand corrected. I got my information from someone whom I thought was extremely credible and attended the meeting.
That being said, I also know from others I talked to that nearly 100% of those attending the meeting were opposed to giving up the field for the fall season. Families opposed included children that play on many other teams other than just football. Varsity boys and girls soccer teams would also have been adversely affected. The cost to rent fields in other towns along with the cost to bus the kids to those fields for events all season would have eaten up a huge chunk of the money proposed by the film company. This does not even take intoaccount the actual cost of the repairs to the field.The funds proposed by the film company were not nearly enough to cover all the costs involved. Swampscott was lucky in that they did not have to give up usage of a Varsity field for 6 months. They only had to forego the usage of one practice field and a parking lot so it was much less of an inconvenience to them.
To pin this on Coach Rudloff or AD Tarmey is completely incorrect.
Reasoning
12:06 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
So I don't want to hear Mr Rudloff or Mr Tarmey commenting or complaining about the condition of Piper field in the future. They rejected the solution and were very vocal in their opposition. Once the film company used the field, they may have offered to rent other school facilities once in town as was the case in Swampscott. Swampscott ended up renting their tennis courts as well as other areas around the filming. Let's also not forget the school department received money for renting the Veteran's School. Wonder what that money was spent on?
P J
5:39 pm on Monday, April 22, 2013
Jay Welch – I advise you to do a little more research before you make such a statement. The production company you speak of was willing to pay just enough money to return the field to its original state. Best-case scenario was that by early October the field was fit for play and back to its original quality. The reality was that digging a 10 ft. deep swimming pool into the 50-yard line would be detrimental to the already bad level and draining of the field. If the field were somehow done in October the fall seasons would be almost over. All the MHS sports that were scheduled for Piper that fall would have to be relocated. In addition to MHS fall sport conflicts, all camps and leagues scheduled for Piper Field & MHS Field House during summer 2012 would have to be relocated, rescheduled, or cancelled.
Reasoning – MHS would have lost money by allowing the production company to use Piper Field. Best-case scenario was that MHS broke even and gained nothing. Tarmey did not reject a solution… he stopped a bad investment.
Mr. Tarmey is intelligent, hardworking and fair. He is one of the most well respected faculty members in the MHS community. He puts an extraordinary amount of time and effort into ALL of MHS athletics.