Rethinking Rundlett: What’s the future of middle school athletics with the construction of a new school at Broken Ground?

 The east side field hockey athletic field at Rundlett Middle School.

The east side field hockey athletic field at Rundlett Middle School. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

A soccer game at the west side athletic fields at Rundlett Middle School.

A soccer game at the west side athletic fields at Rundlett Middle School. GEOFF FORESTER—Monitor staff

The east side field hockey athletic field at Rundlett Middle School.

The east side field hockey athletic field at Rundlett Middle School. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff

Students play soccer at the west side athletic fields at Rundlett Middle School.

Students play soccer at the west side athletic fields at Rundlett Middle School.

By ALEXANDER RAPP and ERIC RYNSTON-LOBEL

Monitor staff

Published: 10-23-2024 5:25 PM

Modified: 10-25-2024 5:59 PM


Scott Owen often talks about rectangles.

“If you give us a rectangle, we can turn it into any field we want,” said Owen, Rundlett Middle School’s athletic facilitator.

In the midst of two major projects in Concord — a new middle school and a renovated Memorial Field — those discussions about rectangles have intensified. Parents and their neighbors are left to decide how many rectangular playing fields the community needs and can afford. School officials need to make sure an appropriate number of rectangles exist outside of the new middle school no matter where it is located.

Current designs call for a new middle school to be built on forested land on the city’s east side, which is expected cost $152 million, making it the state’s most expensive school, even when adjusted for inflation. At the same time, the City Council and school district have started to discuss a Memorial Field renovation estimated to cost anywhere from $10 million to more than $20 million, according to VHB, an engineering firm working with the city and school district on the project.

Planning a new middle school requires consideration of cost and logistics, not the least of which is providing the student-athletes with the spaces they need to compete.

“These fields are needed and necessary for the school community,” said Rundlett principal Jay Richard. “We’re the capital city in the state of New Hampshire, and it’s not really just for our own programs but think about it, if we have a state-of-the-art facility at Memorial Field and great fields here at our new middle school as we need, these spaces are going to be used big time.”

When the school board made the decision to build a new school on raw land, it called for clearing eight acres of trees and repurposing existing fields behind Broken Ground school to be shared athletic spaces.

Since then the land-clearing plans have tripled – to 24 acres – with athletic fields being the single biggest driver.

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The plans at the new middle school location include overlapping baseball and softball fields, two multi-purpose fields, one with a track around it and outdoor basketball courts. Rundlett Athletics had 268 students participating in spring sports, 160 in winter and 315 this fall, although it does not field baseball or softball teams.

Richard said if the baseball and softball diamonds are built, he’s confident they’ll get used, participation will increase and the school will be able to field teams.

“That’s something that the kids have been asking for,” said Richard. “One of the things we’re excited about is providing softball-baseball teams because that opens up that opportunity for everyone.”

The estimated footprint of the Broken Ground athletic fields is 11 acres, which is about the same amount of space as what currently exists at Rundlett. One big difference is a rebuild at Rundlett would leave the middle school without fields to use for years since a new building would be put over the existing open spaces.

“You’re going to build the school, and then you’re going to have to tear down the existing school, and you’re going to have to put the fields in that place and then those fields are goingto have to sit for X number of years before you can play on them,”  said Tina Stanisloski, one of the architects from HMFH who is working on the project.

Depending on construction delays, the fields would be ready for use in 2032, if construction begins in 2026, according to Keith Kelly, director of pre-construction for Harvey Construction.

A different long-term consideration is the potential sale of the Rundlett property by the school district if a new middle school is built at Broken Ground. If the district sells the Rundlett land it could lose control of the space and the other city teams and schools that use the property could be impacted. 

At nearby Memorial Field, initial plans call for a new track and multi-purpose field in the middle, usable for soccer, football, lacrosse and field hockey. Moreover, it would have new bleachers and press box, improved lighting and drainage and renovated softball and baseball fields.

Discussions have also included the possibility of expanding the parking lot and adding a 5,000-square-foot fieldhouse with bathrooms, concessions and storage space.

Some argue that instead of spending millions to build fields at a new middle school on the city’s east side, the middle school athletes could just use a new Memorial Field facility, which is a half mile away from Rundlett. But as Owen pointed out, that wouldn’t necessarily work out logistically, even though the facilities are so close.

“How’re we getting them there? They don’t drive,” he said. “We struggle to get buses. It’s hard to get buses for the number of games that we have between the middle school and the high school.”

Richard also harped on the importance of inclusivity in middle school sports. None of the teams cut any players, so they need space to accommodate everyone who wants to participate. In total, Rundlett — with a student population of roughly 800 — had 281 students participate in fall sports, 160 in the winter and 268 in the spring.

Last school year, Rundlett had 85 players on the boys’ soccer teams and 71 players on the girls’ soccer teams; the school also had 72 flag football players, 38 boys’ lacrosse players and 25 girls’ lacrosse players. It also had 133 students participate in track and field.

“That’s a big deal, and that’s why you need a little bit more field space,” Richard said. “If we only had one soccer team for boys and girls in the fall, then yeah, you might need a little less space, but we have two to three soccer teams every fall because we don’t cut anybody. That’s why some people go, ‘Why do you need all these spaces?’ Because we’re an inclusive environment where we include everybody when possible.”

Cost versus investment

The decision to move the middle school – and its overall cost – has created a backlash.

Bert Cooper, a Concord layer who’s been openly critical of the school board’s handling of the process, argued that there’s sufficient space at the current site for athletic fields to meet the needs of students.

Rundlett currently has two soccer fields, a football field, backstops for a baseball and softball field and a field hockey field. Those spaces, plus easy access to the track at Memorial Field, Cooper said, makes the argument of moving the site of the middle school to the Broken Ground location to improve athletic opportunities hold less weight.

Another point made in favor of moving the school for athletic purposes has been that a new location with a baseball field would allow the middle school to start a baseball team, which it doesn’t currently have.

Cooper doesn’t think that argument adds up. Or at least, it doesn’t justify spending the amount of money it would cost to start a team that he says could’ve been started years ago.

“If they really wanted to have a baseball team, they would have a baseball team,” he said. “That’s what you do. Case in point, the Nordic team. We don’t have fantastic facilities like some of the prep schools. So, they groomed the playing fields with a snowmobile, and the kids skied there, and they’d go over to White Park and ski there. And if it didn’t snow, you’d run. You make it happen.”

Some concern has been raised that the immense cost of the middle school project could create a desire among residents to rein in spending on Memorial Field.

“I think they’re both overdue,” Owen said. “And, if you put things off sometimes, you gotta bite the bullet and do what’s best.”

Even Cooper isn’t so sure that one project will impact the other.

“The issue is that the City Council says, ‘We have nothing to do with the middle school project; that’s the school board’s, ’” he said. “So if they’re not talking about that, it also implies that they’re not going to take it into account in thinking through financial positions.”

He also noted that a more phased approach could lessen the pushback.

“If they approach it in a more sensible fashion and/or phased approach, I think they could do (Memorial Field) and do a middle school.”

The bigger picture, Owen said, is important to consider too. Will these be expensive projects? Yes. But, in his view, it’s about providing the current and future student-athletes of Concord with facilities comparable to what other similarly-sized communities have across the state.

“None of my kids will ever have this. Their kids and their kids’ kids, my great-grandkids will be using these fields. And you only get one chance to do it right,” he said. “Building two facilities that can accommodate what we have would be incredible for the kids of Concord. And not just the kids of today.”

Owen is a Concord taxpayer and isn’t immune to the impact of costly projects, but he feels a new middle school and renovated Memorial Field are clearly worth it.

“These are 50- to 70-year projects. You’re talking generations. And they should have what everyone else has,” Owen said. “I know as a parent, I can’t give my kids everything they want, but I give them what they need, and the city of Concord needs these two projects to happen.”

Editor’snote: This article has been changed to correct the number of Rundlett students participating in fall athletics in 2024.