A Resounding 'No' at Piper Field Forum

Though each resident who spoke at Wednesday night's forum seemed to have a different reason for being upset by the idea of tearing up to film scenes for the Adam Sandler movie - in the end the crowd was able to come to two nearly unanimous decisions.

They didn't think Columbia Pictures' offer of $125,000 to shoot at Piper Field was worth the memories that local athletes and their families would forfeit by missing out on a season's worth of home games.

And they didn't want to see Christopher Piper Field, already in dire need of repairs, dug up and restored unless it meant that the $125,000 would be used as "seed money" toward the installation of a $2 million artificial turf field.

Maass opened the meeting by assuring those in attendance that he hadn't signed any contracts with Columbia Pictures and that his recommendation would have to be weighed by the School Committee before any final decision could be made.

"I said when we first began discussing this that we're going to be losers no matter what we do here," Maass said. "There is no perfect way in and there is no perfect way out and we are going to be seen on one side of this as wonderful and on the other side as villains."

According to Maass, the film's Location Manager, Charlie Harrington, recently made an offer of $125,000 to shoot at 's beloved field, named in honor of Staff Sgt. Christopher Piper.

The plan, Maass said, is to erect a giant tent on the field that would house a massive stage and two sets; a tennis court and an in-ground swimming pool.

As for when filming would begin, Maass said an exact date hasn't been set.

The agreement would require that Columbia restore the field to its current condition when shooting wraps in August, leaving the school system with the $125,000 they would need to re-sod it.

In an attempt to put recent negotiations into perspective, Maass began by going all the way back to December, when he and other town officials sat down to brainstorm ways to re-sod Piper Field. At that meeting, Maass said officials told him the field was "unsuitable for play" and discussed an estimate offered by Sports Turf Specialties Inc. to complete the project for approximately $103,000.

"The original offer from Colubmia was for $100,000 and I asked them for $125,000 because I knew the bid we had was for $103,000 and I wanted to ensure that we'd have some money left over," Maass said, adding, "no contract has been signed, the school district has not given approval for this and nothing has happened in writing, as I speak to you today I swear."

Maass said Harrington assured him that the $125,000 offer was "the most (Columbia) has made to a community or an institution in his 27 years with the company" adding that he didn't want people in town to think he'd been "blinded by the bright lights of Hollywood."

When Maass opened up the floor to discussion, those in attendance took turns railing against the proposal, many of whom doubted that Columbia Pictures would be able to return the problematic field to its present condition after digging out a hole big enough for a swimming pool.

Others pointed out that no home games next season would translate to no money for the booster clubs that provide local students with college scholarships.

Some even suggested that Maass return to the negotiating table in an attempt to get more money for the inconvenience of having to transport athletes to other venues.

Varsity football coach Jim Rudloff said his players have told him they would support the idea of missing a season's worth of home games if they knew they'd be getting a turf field out of the deal.

“They’re more than happy to sacrifice if they know in the long run they’re going to get something better.” Rudloff said, before adding that he was disturbed that Columbia would expect the town to make a hasty decision. 

"Who the frig is Columbia pictures to tell us what to do with our field?" Rudloff said. "If they want to use it and they can’t wait then that's too bad, they’ll live."

Also opposed to the idea was Athletic Director Mark Tarmey, who spoke for about ten minutes and said he was only concerned with "the best interest and the well-being of Marblehead's 700 student athletes."

Tarmey pointed out that he would be the one saddled with the daunting task of trying to reschedule high school sporting events around the filming and argued on behalf of the members of the school's two varsity lacrosse teams, who could end up missing out on home field advantage in the playoffs.

"That field is a living memorial to Christopher Piper and I get conflicted about whether or not we should be doing all of this stuff on a memorial field, never mind all of the stuff we'd have to do that would upset the day-to-day at the high school," Tarmey said. "If we’re going to do this just to bring (the field) back to the way it was, then I don’t want any part of it."

The School Committee will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the library at . Maass is expected to attend the meeting and provide committee members with his recommendation.

Representatives from Columbia Pictures, Maass said, are scheduled to tour the football field today to decide whether or not it will be a suitable location for the movie.

How do you feel about the proposal? Let us know in the comments section below.