LIBERTY – The sun made a rare and welcome appearance this past Friday, just as the first trumpet notes of the national anthem, superbly performed by Liberty High School student Luis Molina-Gonzalez, rang out to begin the groundbreaking ceremony for the ‘Liberty athletic field capital project’.

This project, approved by Liberty Central School District voters in January of 2024, just recently received final approvals by the NYS Board of Education, allowing the project to begin this month. Phase 1 will entail replacing the natural grass turf with new synthetic turf and a field-wide drainage system.

The following phases will include resurfacing the running track, slot drainage along the track’s perimeter, replacing and enlarging the long jump area, new concrete sidewalk for ADA accessibility, new bleachers, new press box, audio, lighting, and scoreboard improvements, and new field lighting for night games.

In attendance were members of the community, Board of Education members, administrative staff, and representatives from the project design and construction team. Student athletes representing varsity girls and boys track, varsity football, varsity girls and boys soccer, and the cheerleading squad were also in attendance. 

Four of these student athletes, Brooke Bull from girls track, Tayler Schwartz from varsity football, Justin Simon from boys soccer, and Elizabeth Cruz Cruz from girls soccer, spoke to the crowd, expressing their gratitude for everyone’s support and excitement about their future. They collectively felt that this project’s improvements would help propel them to reach their full potential, challenge them to work harder, and allow them to thrive and be more competitive. These changes gave them space to grow, the opportunity to train and practice more often, and to play on a different field surface. They all expressed gratitude to their coaches, the school, and the community for investing in their future.

Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan shared the students’ enthusiasm and gratitude, saying, “This project represents opportunity, growth, and commitment to the future of Liberty. We want this facility to motivate our students and our community...to provide activities and events for our students and their families on Friday nights...to host section 9 games and other soccer events...we are rebuilding our athletic programs, this is the first step in our return to the history of winning in Liberty.”

Dr. Sullivan summed up his belief of this project’s connection to a greater whole, “We look forward to the positive impact this will have on our community as we create lasting Liberty pride memories, moments like these, symbolize the power of vision, collaboration and community, coming together to build something meaningful.”

 The football team will be making a sacrifice, as there may not be any home games this season. They do hold on to the hope that the field will be done before the end of the season, but if not, they’re still happy for the classes that will follow them, who will play football on the new turf under the lights.