Allegheny Valley school officials approve construction of $2.68 million athletic field

Allegheny Valley School Board has given its final approval for construction of a proposed multipurpose athletic field.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to spend $2.68 million for the field.

Located along Butler-Logan Road, across from Springdale Junior-Senior High School, the field will provide a home for the district’s football, soccer and track and field teams.

“We’re trying to make sure that home games will be played here,” board President Nino Pollino said. “Our intent is to play on that field this year if we hit our timeline.”

Veterans Memorial Field on Lincoln Avenue in Springdale had been the Springdale Dynamos’ home football field for 84 years before that ended in 2023.

The school district canceled the lease after discussions between district and borough officials could not produce an agreement.

That resulted in the district scheduling last year’s home football games at other nearby high schools.

Board member Paula Jean Moretti said it also led to the school board getting “beaten up” on social media by unhappy parents, residents and fans.

“We are able, through Mr. Pollino’s leadership, to provide a field now for multiple sports, which we feel was the best thing for our students,” Moretti said.

At the recommendation of the administration, the board agreed to award a contract to FieldTurf USA Inc. to design and build the field.

The measure approved by the board shows the estimated cost of construction services is just under $2 million, using Keystone Purchasing Network (KPN).

KPN is a national cooperative purchasing program offering school districts products and services at competitive pricing. All KPN bids are awarded through the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, saving its members the time and expense of soliciting bids.

Additional costs total just over $700,000 and include: about $188,000 for additional contingency costs; almost $134,000 for project management services; and $385,000 for an alternate lighting bid, including LED lighting, electrical connections and poles.

Board member Amy Sarno believes the money will be well spent on behalf of the district’s students.

“It’s serving such a huge percentage of our students,” she said.

The board’s course of action appeared to be set last month when it agreed to proceed with the second phase of the project, paying FieldTurf $55,000 for drawings and permitting.

In November, the board voted to have the company survey the site of what has been the soccer field and do soil testing at a cost of $20,000. That took about eight weeks to complete.