MHS New Athletic: ALMOST THERE!
Before the end of October, and possibly sooner, Messalonskee High School’s $3.9 million sports complex upgrade should be complete, highlighted by an eight-lane synthetic track and an artificial turf playing field for football, soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey.
“Things are still progressing nicely,” RSU 18 Superintendent Carl Gartley disclosed in a late summer update. “In the next few weeks a lot is going to be happening.”
The construction schedule includes putting in the base materials for the track and completing the stone foundation for the turf field. Once that work is finished, the base paving for the track will begin, a process that should be done by the end of August.
Installation of the turf for the playing field is slated for early September and is expected to take a couple of weeks to complete. Meanwhile, workers will be putting the finishing touches on a storage building, installing the bases for 80-feet tall light poles, and getting ready to put in a scoreboard.
Chad Foye, Messalonskee’s new athletic director, has had the opportunity to see the construction progress throughout the summer. Given the magnitude of the project, Foye might have been a bit overwhelmed by all the changes happening around him, but in fact, he said Tommy Hill, his predecessor as athletic director, took care of much of the logistical work necessitated by the project before he stepped down.
“I guess to be honest with you, I was left in good hands,” Foye said. “Tommy Hill just did a great job making this an easy transition for me.”
By the spring sports season, the new athletic complex should be ready to host competitions. But for the fall season, the upgrade means the football team will be road warriors for the entire season, playing three of its four “home games” at Colby College and its fourth one at Waterville Senior High School.