Aliyya Swaby Photo
Mayor Harp hands her construction cap to a Hillhouse student.
Come November of 2015, Hillhouse High athletes will have one more reason to be thankful — the long-awaited reopening of Bowen Field.
That promise came from city and state leaders who joined the community Monday morning to celebrate the start of the field’s $11.6 million renovation, delayed in spring 2013 after the city found pollutants on the field and bleachers. The project is now slated to be completed in time for the 2015 annual Thanksgiving Day Elm City Bowl football game between Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross high schools.
DeLauro and Morrison dance to the band at the groundbreaking.
U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro said she remembers attending the Elm City Bowl when she was younger, and looks forward to seeing the field return to being a “safe place for our young people to be.” The plans for Bowen Field — which is on Crescent Street next to Hillhouse — include replacing the track and old bleachers, adding new lights and switching out grass for turf on the football field.
“I used to be a cheerleader on this same field” and Miss Hillhouse in 1986, said Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison. “I remember the limo pulling up and we strolled across the field.”
At Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Harp stressed the importance of state collaboration on funding local projects. She used the occasion to deliver a one-sentence stump speech for Gov. Dannel Malloy’s re-election this November.
“I can’t tell you how important it is to have someone friendly in the governor’s office,” she said. “That’s all I’m going to say on that.”
Bill Oliver, head of the football team’s booster club, spoke on behalf of the many parents who put pressure on leaders to continue working through the delays.
“[Parents] will be there every step of the way … no matter whether we have to be for you or against you,” he said.
The booster club approached the district in the spring of 2013 to determine the schedule of the renovation. The city was forced to shut down the entire park, after finding PCBs in the track and bleachers.
In July, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave final approval to demolish the bleachers and is close to granting approval to excavate and dispose of the soil underneath, according to the district. The state granted project leaders $4.8 million in July to cover the cost of cleanup, said schools Superintendent Garth Harries.
The Board of Alders voted to accept that grant in September.
Maddox (left) and Milling (right) plan to return and practice after graduation.
Two Hillhouse senior athletes expressed their gratitude that underclassmen will be able to use the field. Football player Corey Maddox said he plans to come back on college breaks and practice with his former teammates.
“Hillhouse finally has its identity back,” said Xavier Milling, who is on the track team.
In the meantime, Hillhouse teams have been playing at Southern Connecticut State University’s Jess Dow Field. Harries said the district plans to formalize that arrangement through next fall, until Bowen is ready for use.