Can’t stop, won’t stop: supporters for synthetic turf project weigh risks, clap back on no votes
January 5, 2024
NESPA Winner: Feature story, 2023
The Graphic, Amherst Regional High School, Amherst, MA
One thing that everyone can agree on is that there is an urgent need to replace the 23-year-old track and field at ARHS.
The ARHS track and field facilities have been of concern and studied for a replacement for well over a decade, and in March 2022, the Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee voted to move forward with a financial proposal that would address the condemned track and potential replacement of the interior field.
The School Committee, the Town of Amherst, and surrounding regional towns committed a portion of the money needed for the project, and further advocacy and support from outside sources seemed as if they would bring it to fruition. One such source is T.U.R.F., which stands for Transformative Uses for Regional Fields, which was founded by the Amherst Hurricane Boosters, Inc. in early 2022 to actively advocate and fundraise toward putting in a regulation-size synthetic field that is facing North-South.
The Town Council had agreed to allocate an additional $900,000 to repair and replace the track, adding to the Boosters’ pledge to raise upwards of one million dollars for the project.
