WOODBRIDGE — More than a decade ago, the Woodbridge High School football field was a large heap of grass and dirt.
“I remember I came to a game when I first became mayor in November 2006,” Mayor John E. McCormac recalled. “The field was a mess, the stands were awful … so I made up my mind then, among the first things we tried to work on would be to replace this field.”
The Woodbridge High School football field became the township’s first synthetic turf field in 2007.
“Now we have nine (turf fields), three at each high school for football, soccer, and baseball and softball,” McCormac said.
Municipal officials and school administrators came together to dedicate the replacement of the 11-year-old synthetic turf field with a new playing surface for township athletes participating in football, soccer, field hockey and other sports with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on June 15 at Woodbridge High School.
“This being the oldest [field], it was getting time to replace it,” McCormac said. “Today we have an absolutely beautiful product for the student athletes of Woodbridge and really the entirety Woodbridge community.”
McCormac said the new playing surface is funded by the township and he said a turf field is cost-effective for the Woodbridge Township School District.
“There is no paying for grass cutting, lining the fields, seeding or watering [the field],” he said.
The township has earmarked funds for the school district for the past 10 years from payment in lieu of taxes agreements with developers.
Superintendent of Schools Robert Zega said it all started about 10 years ago.
“The very first cooperative project with the [Board of Education] and the town was the Woodbridge High School football field,” he said. “Since then we have put almost $30 million into the schools from the town and it’s no coincidence we have the best athletic fields in New Jersey.”
Principal Glenn Lottmann thanked municipal officials and school district administrators for always putting the students first.
“Things like this happen because of the great relationship our Township Council and school board have,” he said. “I have friends who are principals in other districts and some in other states and I often brag about the relationship we have with our school board and council and they think I’m making it up.”
Board member Brian Molnar, who also serves as deputy director of the Woodbridge Recreation Department, said the facility provides a safe place for student-athletes to play on.
“When I was first elected to the board in 2005, I remember one of the very first things I did as a board member was I came into this field,” he said. “I think of the old grass field, there was a big lump of dirt in the middle and we tried to crown it … that was a disaster.”
