LYNN — Student and youth athletes will soon be benefiting from a project involving the addition of a new sports complex to the fields behind Lynn Tech.
The project, currently set to begin this spring, is a part of the city’s mission to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money on renovating six of Lynn’s parks.
The layout of the park will include two soccer and football fields, a baseball field, a softball field, renovations to the existing skate park, spectator seating, and a proposed building. Ward Six Councilor Fred Hogan said that designers are evaluating three different concepts, though each concept will include all of the same assets. The current fields have been in need of major upgrades, and Hogan said he is thrilled to be able to help make that happen.
“It’s really exciting for us, especially in Ward Six,” Hogan said. “That was one of the targets that I had early on is making that field better.”
With the only turf field in the City located at Manning Field, Hogan said that it was time for Lynn to catch up with surrounding communities who have multiple turf fields.
“There’s going to be so much more that we can do. The surrounding communities have multiple turf fields in their cities and we were just well behind. Now this is a complex that’s going to be unbelievable with softball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, and football.”
McManus field is where Lynn Tech teams currently practice, and Athletic Director Adolph Graciale said that by adding turf fields closer to the school, it will take some of the usage off of Manning Field.
“This is going to take wear and tear off of Manning as well because Manning is used by every sports team in Lynn,” he said.
He also said he was excited for the students who will get to use the fields because its something that they deserved. He continued by saying that in addition to helping take some of the usage off of Manning Field, it will be great for teams to be able to practice and play games at home.
“Now with these new facilities being built, we’re going to have varsity games there,” Graciale said. “It will be great for us, especially the location. We won’t have to transfer the kids to Manning.”
In addition to the fields, there will also be a walking and running path that will wrap around McManus Park. There were initial plans to include a track around the fields, however it was determined that it couldn’t be done without compromising the baseball and softball fields. The park is open to the public, therefore the facilities will be open to the community as well. KIPP Academy will also benefit from the upgrades as the school also uses the current fields to practice on.
Hogan said that there will be bleachers at each field that will be able to fit roughly 360 people each.
On March 1, there will be a Parks Commission meeting at City Hall Room 302 where members of the public will be able to review and share feedback on the three layouts, as well as the concepts and designs for the other five parks that are receiving ARPA-funded improvements. There is also an online survey available on the City website where people can provide their input.
Hogan, who coached football and basketball at Lynn Classical, English, and Tech over the span of 25 years, said that helping to improve the sport experience for student athletes is something he is personally committed to.
“It’s going to be amazing. We deserve this in Lynn,” Hogan said. “One thing I was dedicated to was the youth of the city. Getting this field done is just going to be truly amazing to everyone.”
Graciale added that building a brand new sports complex right near the school will help to generate more interest in school sports and potentially increase the number of students who become involved in sports.
“Kids get excited when they see new facilities being built. The infrastructure around them being upgraded, it’s definitely going to draw more kids to our school and the community as well.”
Graciale expects the project to get underway at the end of the spring sports season. Lynn Tech will have to relocate practices for the next school year, starting in the fall, to make sure the project can be completed in a timely manner. He stated that it is a necessary sacrifice in order to provide students with a new state of the art complex.
Hogan gave an estimated construction time of two years, and thanked City Planner Aaron Clausen, Mayor Jared Nicholson, Associate Commissioner of the Department of Public Works Lisa Nerich, Graciale, and the public for making the project possible.
“There’s a lot of people involved in making a project like this go, and it’s just a thanks to them,” he said. “This is going to be truly amazing seeing this here in Ward Six.”
