LYNN — With the fall sports season coming to an end this past week, Rich Avery and the staff at Manning Field can put another busy season in the books.
“We are definitely coming up for air this week,” Avery, who finished his third fall season as the facilities manager at Manning, said.
Manning Field hosted 23 state tournament soccer games and about a half dozen football games this past month, Avery said.
“It all depends on how the local teams do obviously,” Avery said of the number of games at the Manning. “We would love to try to get some more out-of-town games for football. We hosted a Division 1 (state championship) game and that went extraordinarily well a few years ago. Hopefully the wealth continues to get spread around well in the future.”
This fall’s weather helped make the season a more challenging one than most for Avery and his crew.
“I would have to say it was probably a little bit tougher this year, mostly because of the weather,” Avery said. “That might have put attendance down a bit. We just kind of had to roll with the punches and deal with the weather the best we could.”
Avery is especially grateful for the hard work his crew dedicated to keep Manning Field in good shape.
“Manning has been hosting football and soccer for several years before I was even in charge,” Avery said. “Jeff Newhall from St. Mary’s has been my contact from MIAA side of things so we’re fortunate for that.
“At the end of the day we just have a great crew of guys,” Avery added. “They all love doing it and are motivated every season so that helps everything run smoothly here.”
All the games also help get people into the city and showcase the city’s fields, including Manning and Fraser.
“It’s great for the city as a whole for several reasons,” Avery said. “I know local restaurants get a lot of reservations from teams and people that travel here in the fall and even the local fast food places around the stadium get busy on game nights.
“It’s also the whole aspect of when we turn the lights on, the lights for Fraser Field go on too and we get to show this place to people,” Avery added. “Some people might come to Lynn with a bad taste in their mouth about the city and this is a really good chance to show Manning and Fraser and what we have to offer there.”
Now that the busy fall has come to an end Avery and his staff are already looking to what will be a busy spring season.
“I check the building every day but the field themselves shut down for the winter,” Avery said. “I’d love to have a year round facility down the road maybe someday. We are also looking to host some more events in the spring as well. We would love to get some more lacrosse this spring and baseball maybe at Fraser.
“We are definitely excited,” Avery added. “It’s always nice for the spring to start with the good weather. We are also happy to be hosting a few charity tournaments including the Peter Frates Classic baseball tournament (Pitching in for Pete) and a Roberto Clemente Cup tournament. It’ll definitely be a little busier of a spring at Fraser coming up.”
