Bowditch Field in Framingham once had a concession stand by the front gates where former football players, back to watch the current crop, would eat hot dogs and reminisce about the great high school running backs of their day.On Saturday, when Bowditch’s stadium hosts its first game since a $5 million renovation project, the old concession stand will be gone. But in its place, fans attending the Framingham High-Norwood High match will find a plaza with a display showing milestones in local football history, and leaving space for the memories to continue.
“A lot of people have had great moments here,’’ said Robert Merusi, director of the town’s Parks and Recreation Department. “There’s a strong emotional attachment . . . so we felt compelled to capture the history.’’
A full slate of activities this weekend will celebrate the nearly yearlong overhaul of the newly renamed Bowditch Field Athletic and Cultural Complex.
The upgrades include new restrooms, locker rooms, concession stands, and lighting, a press box, and bleachers with room for 5,100 fans, the same as before but with more safety and comfort. “I’m proud of what we accomplished with that amount of money,’’ Merusi said.
Renovating Bowditch is part of a wider effort to boost Framingham’s economic development and improve its image, he said. The events at the revamped complex are expected to draw business to area restaurants, increase property values, and entice visitors from out of town.
“This is one of the most prominent stadiums in the state,’’ said Merusi. “People . . . are going to know what town they’re in.’’
Bowditch Field has always been a landmark for area athletes and sports fans, said Gary Doherty, Framingham High’s head football coach and athletic director. The renovations have preserved memories while creating a first-class facility, he said.
“It’s a source of pride,’’ said Doherty. “Starting with our Norwood game, the kids are going to want to go out and play hard to represent their town and the community.’’
The Thanksgiving Day game against Natick High has been a favorite tradition at Bowditch Field, he said. On past game days, the field has had standing room only, as up to 6,000 people crammed into the stadium.
The original concrete grandstands, built in 1935 as one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal projects, had been deteriorating for some time when they were declared unsafe by engineers in 2004. The following year, efforts began to replace the stands and bring the complex up to current building, environmental, and accessibility codes.
Many people will appreciate the new stands, Doherty said, because the aluminum seats are safe while the brick parts of the stadium harken back to the feel of the old, concrete stands.
Doherty said he also appreciates that the stadium has locker rooms, replacing the old ones that were behind the Parks and Recreation office on the Union Avenue side of the complex.
“Now, we can come out and go right out onto the fields. They just did a great job,’’ he said.
Unlike renovated fields in other nearby towns, the new Bowditch Field does not have artificial turf. Merusi said that’s because of cultural events the town wants to host in the new stadium. Turf may be installed in the future, but for now, concertgoers and soccer players will enjoy a field of grass.
“There’s advantages and disadvantages to both,’’ said Doherty. “If it was turf, we’d be able to take advantage of it just by the number of games and number of teams that could use it.’’
In 1869, the Middlesex Agricultural Society purchased the land between Union Avenue and Walnut Street where Bowditch Field stands, and established exhibition halls and race tracks.
As Framingham’s economy moved away from agriculture, and athletics grew in popularity, the town bought the field in 1917 for park property. The athletic field was built in 1922, and the stands followed a decade later.
Town lore has it the Flyers nickname for the high school’s sports teams was created to honor the many young Framingham men who joined the Army Air Corps during World War II, said Fred Wallace, a researcher at the Framingham History Center. The history of the Flyers’ name, which first appears in a newspaper report in 1944, is uncertain and “buried in folklore,’’ he said, but most people have taken the story as true.
When Framingham’s high schools, North and South, were recombined in the mid-1990s, debate ensued over which mascot to keep, said Merusi. The Spartans of Framingham North had a better football record, but tradition won the day, with the new school keeping the blue and white Flyers taken by Framingham South.
The grand reopening weekend starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, and continues with the official dedication ceremony at 1 p.m., followed by a football doubleheader featuring Framingham vs. Norwood at 3 p.m. and Marian High hosting Pope John XXII Central High at 8 p.m.
Sunday will feature music and entertainment on two stages, including ensembles from area schools, the Latin Jazz Orchestra at 2:30 p.m., and folk icon Arlo Guthrie bringing his “Journey On’’ tour with the Family Band as the headliners at 5 p.m.
Tickets for Sunday’s performances are $5 for residents, $1 for children; $10 for nonresidents, and $2 for nonresident children; they are available at the parks office at 475 Union Ave.
Monday’s slate of free sports events includes youth lacrosse, a Framingham United soccer game at 2:30 p.m., and a Brazilian soccer game at 4:30 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment