By Rebecca Portnoy, Communications Associate, Concordia College

Jul. 4, 2018: As Concordia College prepares to break ground on its state-of-the-art synthetic turf soccer field, the school is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Safe Places to Play program.

Concordia’s 100-year-old grass field was overdue for renovation. Compacted, uneven, and served by an outdated drainage system, the field flooded regularly, disrupting playing schedules for the college’s NCAA Division II teams. The need for aeration required the field to be closed during the off-season.  

The new turf field, expected to be completed in time for the 2019-20 academic year, will have a new press box, scoreboard, and bleachers. Construction will also include a comfort station with restrooms, changing rooms, and a concession stand. An extensive stormwater containment system will minimize stormwater runoff into the municipal drainage system.  

The new field will allow for extended seasons including non-conference home games and an expansion of Concordia’s current roster of community youth athletic clinics and camps.

The Safe Place to Play foundation is a national model for sports-based youth development programs in underserved communities. Concordia College’s economically diverse student body was a consideration in the grant-making process, as was the school’s long history of opening its facilities to neighboring Lower Westchester communities, several of which are underserved.  

Photo courtesy Rebecca Portnoy, Communications Associate, Concordia College

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