Camden Catholic breaks ground for turf field
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
8/14/2009

Using the same ceremonial shovel that broke ground on the high school in 1962, Monsignor Andrew Martin, president of the high school, and several Camden Catholic High School representatives ushered in a new era of athletics.

Partnered with Sprinturf, the school broke ground on a new artificial turf playing field at its sports facility last week. Sprinturf – a local sports facility construction company that has installed new turf fields at LaSalle University, Drexel University and the Philadelphia Eagles Nova Care Center – has fast-tracked the project to ensure its completion before the first football game of the season.

“After providing the best fields we could for many years for our students, we’re providing a quality turf field for our coaches and athletes this season,” Martin said.

The patented, dual-fiber synthetic turf system will play host to the six athletic teams at Camden Catholic High School and be ready for the first home football game of the season on Oct. 3, said Principal Thomas Kiely.

A few soccer games early in the season will likely have to be played at another site, he said, but the field will be available after the opening date of Oct. 3.

“As long as the weather holds clear we’ll be finished by mid- September,” he said.

The high school will also start to schedule more games at night, he said, to take advantage of the better playing field.

All six teams will play on the artificial turf field when it’s completed.

Football, field hockey, boys and girls soccer and boys and girls lacrosse will play most or all of their 2009-2010 seasons at the new complex.

About 40 percent of the student body participates in one of the high school’s 11 boys and 11 girls organized sport teams, Martin said in a previously released statement.

The turf field is part of a two-pronged campaign the high school announced last year.

The “Fields for the Future” campaign will be fully completed by 2010 if successful, Martin said.

The installation of the turf field – along with some re-grading, improvements to the existing fields and landscaping for the entrance to the athletic complex – constitutes the first phase of the campaign.

The second phase includes the installation of a six- to eight-lane track adjacent to the football field. The school estimated the entire project would cost nearly $1 million to complete.

Vice President of Marketing and Sales Operations of Sprinturf Amy Brackin said the turf field portion cost the high school about $610,000 to complete.

The “Fields for the Future” campaign stems from a 2005 strategic plan, “Modernizing the Mission,” which contained six strategic goals to upgrade the facilities at Camden Catholic.

According to school representatives, one of the priorities was to renovate a number of the structures at the school to accommodate the needs of a growing educational system and prepare it for the 21st century.

Marlene Grimes, athletic director for the high school, said she was eagerly anticipating the start of the new sport seasons and the opening of the turf field.

“I’m really excited it’s going to be a huge event,” she said. “I’m also very excited that there are going to be more night games for the upcoming seasons.”

For more information on how to donate to the “Fields for the Future”

campaign, visit the school’s Web site at Camdencatholic.org.