Football team focusing little on field construction ahead of season opener

Despite the space-consuming construction and heavy machinery present throughout the student parking lot and the field itself, GHS’s new athletic director Bryan Lafata says the field is playable.

“The only impact really is the bleachers. And we’re hoping to have them back by the end of the month. Bleachers should be installed for the second home [football] game on October 5th,” he said.

In late July, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken requested a loan to help fund the reinforcement and repair of the Newell Stadium. This came after a season of violent storms exposed some flaws in the design of the bleachers on the school side of the stadium, and after those bleachers were found to be sinking into the ground in early 2017.

This construction comes after the scoreboard and light wiring was repaired in the late summer after destruction brought about by those same storms.

Now, with the home opener of the football season happening tomorrow, Friday the 7th, against Revere, contingency plans will be put in place in order to accommodate the expected volume of fans. Portable bleachers will be brought in to help seat fans, while visitors are encouraged to bring their own seating, in the form of lawn chairs and other similar options. Standing room will also be available if necessary.

The football team itself, however, does not seem to be worrying much about the stadium’s ongoing construction.

“The bleachers don’t really affect how we will take on the game. It’ll definitely be different but it’s exciting to know that there will be fans right next to the field and close to us,” said senior captain Marc Smith, “We hope to have a lot of energy [from] the fans. We know it’ll be loud but we need to stay focused and play our game. We hope to bring home a big win on the season opener.”