New field mulled
BUFFALO TWP — The Freeport School Board must decide whether to renovate the football field in Freeport or construct a new field at an upgraded sports complex at the high school off Route 356 in the township.
The school board is mulling over seven options.
Dan Lucovich, board president, said the initial decision, which would be made next month, is selecting a site — Freeport or the township.
“We don’t even own the field in Freeport,” Lucovich said. “The question is do you invest in something you don’t own.”
The borough owns the field.
Lucovich pointed out the majority of students, roughly 62 percent, live in Buffalo, making that site more convenient for most families.
He said 14 percent of the students live in Freeport with the remaining 24 percent in South Buffalo Township.
Despite the drawback to staying in Freeport, Lucovich said he has not yet made a decision.
The board recently approved borrowing more than $18 million. Lucovich said some of that money will help pay for the $33 million middle school construction and building repairs in Buffalo.
He said the rest of the borrowing would fund most of the athletic facilities project, which the district hopes to keep under $4 million.
If the district keeps the sports field in Freeport, it would need a field house because the junior high and Kindergarten Center there are closing.
All the choices call for artificial turf on the field.
The seven options presented by VEBH Architects of Pittsburgh are:
A $5.2 million plan to recast the Freeport field to accommodate soccer games, raze the junior high to create a parking lot and build a new field house at the northwest corner of the lot. The baseball field would relocate to Buffalo.
A $4.7 million plan to spruce up the football and baseball fields in Freeport, including the installation of new bleachers, and put in the parking lot and field house where the junior high is.
A $4.5 million plan to install a new football/soccer field inside the existing track at the high school in Buffalo with a new field house. The track would be modified.
A $4.4 million plan to retain and upgrade the Freeport fields and convert the junior high cafeteria into a field house.
A $4.1 million plan to build a football/soccer field and a field house by the middle school.
A $4 million alternate plan for a field and a field house by the middle school. The field would be aligned parallel to the school. There also would be an optional practice field.
A $3.8 million plan to construct a stadium on the existing soccer field in Buffalo.
