Big plans are being set for the Dartmouth Memorial Stadium in the next year or two. The town is planning to renovate the stadium where football, soccer, and other sports are played. It will cost around $1.4 million.

The town is looking to replace the stadium lights that have been there for over 40 years, put in turf fields, and renovate the stadium bleachers.

Senior soccer player Jordan Pacheco said, “Our lights at the stadium are awful and make it hard to see during night games.”

The renovations of the stadium bleachers are going to be minor but efficient. They will be repairing the rails and fixing up the holes that are located throughout the bleachers. However, they will be keeping the historic look to the bleachers that has been there for many years.

DHS players and coaches couldn’t be more excited about the news of the new fields. Players have only dreamed of playing on home turf after playing on bumpy dirt fields for many years.

Sophomore soccer player Dylan Senra and senior football player Luke Clarke both said they prefer to play on turf over grass. During rainy games they both still prefer turf. Clarke explained that the players don’t have “good footing”  because of the mud getting stuck in their cleats.

Players have even twisted their ankles in the hidden ditches of the field. Senra said, “Playing on grass has caused injuries in the past season such as sprained ankles and shin splints.”

Alumni Andrew Martinez and Benjamin Silvia recall always having to get their ankles taped prior to games to prevent injuries.

When our teams travel to other schools they play on new fields with new sound systems, new lights, and new turf fields that are nice to play on. Other schools in the area all have turf and renovated fields. Just this past year New Bedford Voc-Tech  did their renovations. New Bedford HS has had a renovated stadium for a few years now.