Scarsdale To Close Field, Track; Will Completely Renovate Them

SCARSDALE, NY — The Scarsdale school district will close Butler Field and Track, citing its age and having reached the end of its usable life. A message sent to the community from Assistant Superintendent for Business and Facilities Stuart Mattey and Director of Physical Education, Health and Athletics Ray Pappalardi said during the past spring season it was necessary to increase repairs to Butler Field in order to keep it usable.

“This, coupled with its upcoming renovation, has resulted in more intense monitoring of the field conditions, which has led to our having strong concerns regarding the safety and playability of Butler Field,” they said.

The concerns about the condition of the field are based on the following:

• At every five yard line, the field level changes.
• There are several locations on the field where the level changes more severely.
• Where the pro-construction borings were performed, the surface cannot be repaired completely, because the turf is too old and worn.
• After each hard rain, more low spots appear, infill aggregates, and playing conditions continue to degrade.

Fall season coaches have been told that Butler Field will be closed for all games and practice starting the week of Aug. 20.

The district is working with the coaches to provide the best possible alternatives to Butler Field, including use of turf fields at other local schools.

Construction fencing on the inside perimeter of the track is scheduled to be put in place Friday, Aug. 24.

The district said access to the track will be available until early October, at which point the entire area will be closed for renovation.

It is expected that the Butler Field and track renovation will begin in early October with the removal of the current turf field, followed by upgrades to the drainage system, installation of the new turf surfaces and, finally, track replacement.

Track replacement may not be completed until well into the spring, or even later, depending on weather conditions.

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