Hill Stadium overhaul nearing completion

SACO — The fall sports season is not all Thornton Academy fans have to be excited about.

Next week, the reconstruction of Dr. Paul S. Hill Stadium will be complete, and will be the home not only for games, but practices for many of Thornton’s teams for the foreseeable future.

Reconstruction on the grounds began in the spring. Hill Stadium will have new bleachers, a new press box, and a brand new field, as FieldTurf technology takes over for the natural grass surface the stadium once housed.

Also new to the stadium will be the use of lights, a perk that the stadium didn’t offer in the past. Many York County football fans have wondered that the installation of lights may be the beginning of the end of the traditional Saturday afternoon football games that Hill Stadium has hosted during the years.

Thornton athletic director Gary Stevens put to rest the minds of traditionalists, saying home football games will still be played on Saturday afternoons for the foreseeable future. But he did indicate that circumstances (i.e. bad weather) could play a part in the stadium hosting its first-ever Friday night game.

“We’re going to try to maintain the tradition of Thornton Academy football playing on a Saturday afternoon,” Stevens said. “However, there may come an occasion, for example, inclement weather during the afternoon where the field is playable (and) may not be inviting for spectators to come out. It allows us to delay the start of the game so we can increase our crowd. I know the Junior Trojan program, which uses the field, is interested in possibly playing some night contests. Sometimes if people get a taste of something, it may create a greater interest to have that at the high school level down the line. But right now our plan is to play day football.”

For the fall, the stadium will be used for football, soccer and field hockey. Stevens said every coach had a hand in the design of the field.

“Coaches gave me input in what we were going to have in terms of the design, the colors, everything” Stevens said. “I can say with 100 percent certainty there is some aspect of that design that every coach had suggested at one point or another, and we were all in agreement with how it should be designed.”

Construction work on the grounds of Thornton Academy hasn’t hit just Hill Stadium. Work has been done beyond the field that was formerly the lacrosse field (those games will also be played in Hill Stadium)and will be turned into a multi-use practice facility. The tennis courts are currently being paved and will be ready for use for spring. Space will also be doubled by the softball field so that another softball diamond can be created for junior varsity games.

Stevens said the facility will be near completion by the end of next week. Finishing touches are being made to the track surrounding the field, and to the bleachers on the home side of the field, as well as the installation of the press box.

Hill Stadium will still be home to the New England Regional Track and Field Championships next spring.

“Shaw Brothers (Construction) and the other contractors who have been working with us have been doing yeoman’s work to this point,” Stevens said. “It’s one of those situations where the light is at the end of the tunnel and we can see the light, so we’re close to being able to use it.”

All in all, as Stevens said, the new field continues the process of blend a modern fell in with a traditional school such as Thornton.

“Our headmaster, Carl Stasio, has said it very well,” Stevens said. “Mr. Stasio has often stated that strong organizations have a strong sense of their roots, but at the same time, they are able to spread their wings. I think that’s what Thornton is all about. It’s very traditional, but it’s progressive at the same time. Those seem like they’re conflicting types of values, but they really merge here at T.A.”

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