Cardinal Stadium Bleachers Set To Open Saturday

GREENWICH, CT — After a long wait, the home-side bleachers at Greenwich High School's new-look Cardinal Stadium will be filled on Saturday.

The Greenwich Building Department granted a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy on Friday, allowing the stadium to be used for the Cardinals' football game against Fairfield Prep at 2:30 p.m.

Greenwich played its first "home" game in Stamford's Boyle Stadium in September

"When you're a player and a coach and you're in front of the home bleachers and those bleachers are full of fans screaming and yelling positively for you, you get superpowers. With those superpowers you get a better chance of winning," said Joe Kelly, the former GHS rugby coach and current Board of Education member.

"If we were going to Boyle Stadium, we wouldn't have those superpowers. But at Cardinal Stadium, we get those superpowers. It's going to be great."

The Cardinal Stadium Improvement Project's first two phases — 1A and 1B — have been under construction for several months. While they're not 100 percent complete yet except for the bleachers, Kelly expects a grand opening of the stadium at the end of the month.

Besides the bleachers, Phase 1A includes the construction of a press box, elevator, new bathrooms and a team room that will go below the bleachers. Phase 1B includes the addition of new lights on existing poles, handicap parking, and an entry kiosk.

"We fenced-off all the unfinished areas, and we're just using a limited portion of the area around the stadium. We're not using the buildings underneath [the bleachers]," Kelly explained. "We're getting close. We hope and expect to have these [phases] ready for the grand opening on Oct. 30 when everything should be all ready. We're apologizing for not being totally finished, but we thought it was better for the kids to have a home game."

Phase 2 includes construction of an access road from East Putnam Avenue, and hasn't started yet.

As soon as the game is over and the stadium is cleared out, the area will turn back into a construction site, Kelly said. The temporary permission will expire.

While Saturday will serve as somewhat of a dress rehearsal for the big opening later this month, Kelly said it's still important for the town to see those bleachers full Saturday. They were closed in 2019 after they were deemed unsafe.

"Everyone has been working as a team. The town has come together like no other time. Everyone you can imagine within the town is doing everything they can do to get the stadium open," Kelly said.