Significant Pledges Made To New Hope-Solebury Stadium Campaign

NEW HOPE, PA — The New Hope Solebury School District’s capital campaign for a new stadium received a substantial commitment this summer.

In a unanimous vote on August 30, the school board approved two pledge and naming rights agreements from the community totaling $900,000, which would help fund a proposed $2.5 million project to upgrade the high school stadium.

The funds would be put toward the cost of improving the facility including the addition of a fieldhouse with locker rooms and ADA-accessible restrooms; concession stand and adjoining seating area; a press box with multimedia studio; additional bleachers; gated enclosure; and an upgraded sound and lighting system.

After constructing a new turf field and track in 2021 at the stadium, the district began exploring the feasibility of adding a new field house and press box. The cost of the project was estimated at between $2.5 million and $6 million.

“The board was very interested at that time to look beyond board money and to look for private donors,” said Superintendent Dr. Charles Lentz. “We engaged in two components of that process. We are finishing phase one where we went out to people who have financial ability to provide generous donations. We also put word out to the community that we were looking for the community that we were looking for those funds.”

In response to the district’s overtures, three individuals stepped forward, according to the superintendent.

The largest pledge for $750,000 is from the Asplundh Foundation. It would be paid to the district over a five year period. Under the agreement, the stadium will be renamed New Hope Solebury High School Asplundh Stadium in recognition of the donation.

A second pledge for $150,000 is from an anonymous donor, which would also be paid to the district over a five year period. Under the district’s naming policy, the new press box would be named the “Pop-Pop” Heath Press Box.

The district is expecting to receive a third donation that would bring the campaign up to a million dollars.

“We are so fortunate that we have local donors who want to step up and support this capital campaign. It’s amazing to have that opportunity,” said board member and finance committee chair John Augenblick.

The board has allocated $1.2 million toward the stadium improvements in its 10-year facilities plan. That would leave a balance of $300,000 to raise in public donations.

“The facilities committee, the subcommittee and this board have been incredibly transparent in what this project is, how big it could have gotten and how small it became,” said board member Montu Patel. “This is not extravagant. We’re asking for restrooms. We’re asking for things that the majority of other communities who our kids play against already have. It’s not more than that. It’s not better than that. It may be less than that, but it is the minimum. These are simple things. The cost may be a little more than $2.5 million just because the cost of materials have gone up. The designs we saw were extravagant at the $6 million level. I thought the administration put
forward a sensible idea which I wholeheartedly support.”

Patel added, “Stephanie Yoder and the members of the (capital campaign) team have done an extraordinary job and she and that group should be commended. Getting a million dollars in donations for a community of this size is not a small task. It is quite large.

“I hope this community respects and understands that all of those dollars that add up to a million dollars is a legacy for that individual or that group," he added. "I just want to thank those people and the other donors who are going to come forward as a result of these anchor donors. And to all those who would like to donate more, please feel free to reach out to us.”

An official board vote has not been taken on the project and a timeline for construction has not been solidified.

In other school business, the board approved a revised version of the district calendar moving the final day of school to June 13 to align with the required number of school days each year.