
Now that the bleachers and press box at the Franklin Township High School athletic complex have been officially opened, the district administration is setting its sights on the project’s next phase.
School district and township officials gathered on the football field prior to the Oct. 12 homecoming game against Elizabeth High School to formally cut the ribbon on the complex’s second phase.
Schools Superintendent Edward Seto and Board of Education president Julia Presley spoke to the crowd of Warrior fans, and thanked current and former board members and other officials for their efforts in bringing about the complex.
The ribbon cutting, Seto said, represented a “huge milestone for the school district and the community.”
The new stadium, he said, will allow for night football and field hockey games; expand access to the township’s athletic clubs, such as those for soccer, track and baseball; expand and improve the high school physical education program and allow the township to host state, county and sectional track meets.
The stadium also “permits us to reduce substantially our day-to-day maintenance costs,” he said.
But, Seto said, “the journey is not yet over.”
He said plans are now being formed for phase three of the project, which will include locker rooms, a concession stand, equipment rooms and bathrooms.
The price tag for that phase, Seto said, is estimated at $900,000.
“I look forward to refining and detailing phase three of the athletic complex in the coming months with my administrative team and the Board of Education,” Seto said.
Presley told the crowd that the board is “behind each and every athlete and behind our entire student body.”
“All of our board members are a team, and we have worked ardently to make sure this happened for you,” she said.