Public forum on future of Alumni Field scheduled

by Sara Swanson

In 2016, Manchester Community Schools began holding meetings to determine how best to allocate the shrinking student body among the four buildings owned by the district in order to cut costs and more efficiently use the spaces. Also discussed at the time was the future of Alumni Memorial Athletic Field, the entrance to which is located on the corner of Wolverine and East Vernon Streets in the village. While the building reconfiguration process eventually resulted in the closure and sale of the Nellie Ackerson Building (with some side steps along the way), the decision on what should happen with Alumni Field was postponed indefinitely. Six and a half years after the question was first raised, the district is revisiting it.

The Manchester Community Schools Board of Education’s Buildings and Grounds Committee is inviting the community to an input and forum session taking place on Thursday, November 17, at 6pm in the media center of the Manchester Jr./Sr. High School, located at 20500 Dutch Dr, so they can gather input as to the direction and vision for the future of the field.

Multiple community groups use Alumni Field, including the Chicken Broil, the Manchester Community Fair, and the Manchester Soccer Association, but the school district does not. Currently the district pays to maintain Alumni Field even though the district hasn’t used it regularly since High School soccer, the last school sport to be played on the field, moved their games from Alumni Field and began sharing the athletic complex field with the football team in 2018.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.