St. Francis Xavier School in Acushnet unveiled a brand-new turf field for its 248 students on Monday, October 26, closing out more than a year of fundraising, planning and construction. The project replaced an old soccer field that was often muddy, rocky and difficult to use, especially after heavy rain, giving the preschool-through-eighth-grade school a reliable outdoor space for the first time in years.
Principal Haley Rogers, now in her fourth year leading the school, said creating a safe outdoor space for students became a priority given the size of the student body. According to 1420 WBSM, the school received more than $150,000 in donated services, materials and labor, and raised nearly $200,000 toward the project — all funded through community support rather than a single large donor.
Local businesses, contractors, families and community partners backed the effort, the outlet reports, turning what started as a basic infrastructure fix into a community-wide campaign. The finished field now includes new safety fencing and improved drainage, letting students use it for outdoor activities year-round instead of just on dry days.
Behind the Scenes: Wetland Buffer and Drainage Conditions
Before construction could begin, the project needed sign-off from local regulators. Per CitizenPortal, the Acushnet Conservation Commission voted to accept an Order of Conditions allowing the school to replace its grass athletic field with a 170-by-65-foot artificial turf surface and associated drainage work within the 100-foot buffer to a bordering vegetated wetland.
Those conditions required silt-fence installation and an inspection process before work could start, and the school pledged to remove debris from a nearby wetland as part of the approval, according to the same report. The regulatory steps explain part of why the project stretched across more than a year of fundraising, planning and construction before students ever set foot on the finished surface.
A Day of Laps, Goals and Inflatable Bowling
The October 26 celebration began with a morning blessing and an unveiling for donors, followed by a special student assembly that afternoon. Each class took its first official lap around the new field, while student representatives scored ceremonial soccer goals to mark the occasion, the school's local coverage noted.
The day also included lighter moments away from the ribbon-cutting formalities. Eighth-grade students won an inflatable bowling competition against their teachers, adding a bit of levity to a milestone event more than a year in the making.
What's Next for the New Field
School leaders say they hope to eventually partner with local youth sports leagues to let more SouthCoast children use the field, though no such partnership is currently in place. For now, the upgrade primarily benefits St. Francis Xavier's own students, who traded a muddy, rocky field for a safer, all-weather space to play.
