Ever Upward!

The Campaign for Underhill

The time has come to improve our district’s athletic fields. It’s up to all of us to make sure our student athletes and residents have safe facilities on which to exercise, practice and compete.

That’s why the Columbia High School Alumni Association has taken the lead in an exciting effort to redevelop Underhill and Ritzer Sports Complexes. Phase 1 of this project will concentrate on Underhill as conditions at this facility are in the worst state and improvements here will impact the largest number of sports programs and students.

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The New Underhill Athletic Facility will include:

• An artificial turf playing surface impacting football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, field hockey, marching band and cheerleading.
• Resurfaced running track and new field event areas
• State of the art lighting

Our goal is to complete these renovations by next September. To accomplish this, we will need to raise $1.7 million. We’re well on our way and hope that you too will want to play a role.

If you’d like to get involved in the biggest project to hit Maplewood and South Orange in years, contact Charles Tamayo: cmmss@aol.com. (201) 657.8656

The Campaign for Underhill Overview

The Columbia High School Alumni Association (CHSAA) is embarking on a capital campaign to renovate the CHS athletic facilities at Ritzer and Underhill Fields. Ritzer Field is Columbia High School’s ‘backyard.’ The Phase I initiative for upgrading Columbia’s athletic facilities encompasses bringing Underhill playing field, which has not been renovated or restored in any significant way over the last several decades, up to state-of-the-art condition. This first phase is budgeted at $1.7 million.

What and Where is Underhill Field?

Underhill Field is a recreation complex located on Burr Road in Maplewood, remote from Columbia High School. Underhill Field includes a running track, football field with grandstands, varsity and JV baseball fields, 2 field houses, a concession stand, and limited off-street parking. The facilities at both locations are also heavily used by the youth recreational programs of both Maplewood and South Orange.

Who uses Underhill Field?

This space is used daily for physical education classes and field sports, including soccer, lacrosse and field hockey.

Currently, Underhill complex is utilized by the following athletic groups:

• HS Football
• Youth Football (grades K-8)
• HS Girls Lacrosse
• HS Track
• Seton Hall University Track Team (practice)
• Travel Girls Lacrosse
• Youth Girls Lacrosse (grades 3-8)
• Youth Track (grades 3-8)

Underhill is also utilized extensively by community members who use this public space as a place for their own exercise and recreation.

Once work has been completed, many additional programs could potentially be supported at this site as the artificial turf surface would not need to rest between uses or effected by weather conditions. These could include:

• Field Hockey
• Marching Band
• Numerous Soccer groups
• Ultimate Frisbee
• Additional Lacrosse groups
• Holiday Tournaments
• Sports Camps

What work is going to be done?

The football field, also used for lacrosse, is in such poor condition, with rampant divots and broad patches of bare ground, that it is a continuous source of frustration and embarrassment for the Columbia teams. The track has reached such a state of disrepair, that no home meets were scheduled during the 2006-2007 school year. Thus, CHS’ teams are effectively barred from enjoying the strategic and emotional edge of home games/meets.

The poor conditions of Underhill field and its environs have both physical and emotional impact, and a cornucopia of ripple effects…

• Further deterioration of surfaces already in "Mayday" condition from continued overuse
• Rutting and holes that dramatically decrease the quality of practice and game experiences, thus reducing the competitiveness of Columbia's teams
• Poor lighting that severly limits evening use
• Loss of pride and sense of competitiveness among Columbia’s teams
• Limited usage
• Much greater maintenance costs that continue to increase in inverse proportion to field conditions
• Fierce, at times acrimonious competition, among the fields' potential users for available times limited by the requirements of natural grass surfaces and the poor conditions

Delaying the planned improvements will only result in further deterioration of the fields and the likelihood of serious injuries among its community of users.

Our goal is to raise $1.7M so a series of major improvements can be in place by the beginning of the next school year in September of 2008! These funds will enable us all to enjoy:

• A new artificial turf surface for football, soccer & lacrosse
• A resurfaced running track,
• New field event areas, and
• State of the art lighting.

These enhancements will provide a much safer venue for our student athletes at a much lower annual maintenance cost. They'll also provide more hours of use, so additional students and community groups can utilize the field. Perhaps most importantly, the new Underhill Field will serve as a source of pride for both our players and residents while becoming a model for future development efforts.

Why can’t the school district bond for these improvements?

The South Orange Maplewood School district is currently in the middle of a 10 year $52 million facilities improvement plan, with bonds issues every few years to pay for major capital improvements throughout its 12 buildings. The most recent of these capital improvements is the new cafeteria at Columbia High school. We are fortunate to have beautiful historic buildings in our school district, however the cost of maintaining, repairing and updating these facilities is extremely high. Due to the property tax stress already imposed on the community, the school board’s improvement plan does not include major renovations for the outdoor athletic facilities.

To find out more view the case study.

Help Support the Campaign:

Volunteer and/or Make a Donation

© 2008 Columbia High School Alumni Association.