The breeze still stirs the trees, the gravel parking lot still crunches when cars enter and leave, but the relative peace of Parsons Field has been interrupted of late by bulldozers and other heavy machinery. Crews have been ripping up the old (and I mean old) artificial turf before laying down a new surface in time for the fall season.
Much was made of the multi-million dollar renovation to Matthews Arena last summer, turning a storied but aging building into a glistening facility worthy of Division 1 ice hockey and basketball programs. Now the spotlight shifts to Parsons, a facility which, for Division 1 football, was woefully inadequate. Its carpet-like surface was chewed up by constant play for nearly a decade, several years past its recommended life. Beyond being used by four varsity programs (football, men’s and women’s soccer and baseball), a myriad of other teams also called the field home. Among them were two club lacrosse teams, two club soccer teams, two rugby teams and Brookline High School football, all vying for practice and playing time.
When the football program was discontinued last November, people talked about the impact on the Athletics Department, players and coaches, but Parsons Field was largely left out of the discussion. Even before the football team was terminated, the field was slated for an improvement – new turf was to be laid down and incremental improvements to the press box were to be made. Yet, when Northeastern’s baseball season (mercifully) ended in May, nary a whisper of the plans for Parsons were revealed.
Now, the face-lift is underway. That makes me curious.
Will it only have soccer lines, or will it be true to its roots and have more lines than one can possibly decipher? For instance, will a center fielder still be able to make a catch at the 45-yard line?
What about club sports? Northeastern has a proud history of club lacrosse and rugby, I’m sure those teams will want a piece of the action.
What about Brookline High School? Will Northeastern paint football lines on the field? I’m sure there are former Huskies football players who would consider it a slap in the face that a local high school is getting use out of a new turf field with fresh paint, while Northeastern’s team has vanished.
What about the old field house, likely in need of some repairs, or the press box, definitely in need of some improvement?
Luckily, I found a few basic answers about the project from the Athletics Department: Parsons will have a new FieldTurf surface (the same stuff that Gillete Stadium uses), and additional lines will be painted to accommodate the Rugby and Lacrosse teams.
That leaves many unknowns. Despite this, one source of confidence can be found in the man leading the project. His name is Frank Mahoney Jr., director of Northeastern’s Special Projects division. If that doesn’t ring a bell, this will: He is the man behind the Matthews Arena renovations completed last summer. So if track record is any indication, old Parsons will be sparkling come August.
No matter what the final aesthetic and infrastructure components of the field are, one thing is certain: Northeastern must take better care of Parsons than it has in the past. In recent years, it wasn’t just uncomfortable to play on – in my opinion, it was a safety hazard.
If the ongoing goal is to provide the best possible resources to achieve success, Northeastern needs to stick to that, starting now.
Women’s soccer, the first team to use Parsons Field, plays their first game in just over two months.
Alex Faust is a Huntington News columnist
