By By Jared Sugerman, News Staff
Finally, a wish might be fulfilled and the Northeastern football program could be moved to a new facility.
Perhaps our team will finally be able to compete with conference rivals that can accommodate more than 10,000 people on Saturday afternoons.
And, perhaps most importantly, Northeastern students would no longer be forced to ride a shuttle bus to Parsons Field on Saturdays.
Instead, we might head toward White Stadium in Jamaica Plain, as reported in an article in the July 1 edition of The News and a story published in The Boston Globe June 28. Both stories indicate that Northeastern could take part in a program to revitalize high school sports in Boston by funding what the Globe calls ‘multi-million dollar improvements’ for the high school sports venue. As part of the developing plan, the Huskies would be welcome to host competitions there as well.
So our team may potentially be moving, but it might not be to a new, on-campus facility. Instead of going to Parsons Field, located 2 miles from campus, fans would go to Franklin Park, 3.1 miles from Northeastern. At least it’s still within range for the shuttles.
Should the Huskies move to Jamaica Plain, our largest crowds might still be smaller than those of our opponents; White Stadium can support 10,000 fans, but the average attendance for games played away from Parsons by Northeastern was 12,143. Last season, the Huskies drew a total of 14,683 spectators for five games at Parsons Field, where capacity is 7,000, an average of 2,936 people per game.
This decision would be difficult to rationalize even if it were not for the money generated from students that was supposedly directed toward an on-campus athletic facility within the last 10 years. It seemingly fails to resolve any of the issues that have plagued our football team and its fan base during a most recent five-year stretch that has included 17 games won and 39 lost. Though Northeastern did experience some prior success, our teams have traditionally struggled to compete with the top competition in their division, largely because we lack the facility to entice student-athletes and fans alike.
So perhaps our administration has found a new way to leverage this fledgling program. It seems unlikely that Northeastern would be allowed to build a stadium at any on-campus site, and it is even more difficult to imagine the team having consistent success in its current state.
But, we have an opportunity to improve our image by contributing to the rejuvenation of high school sports in Boston. And, this plan might also lead to the development of local athletes who could be drawn to Northeastern once they have attained college eligibility, thus providing potential short and long-term benefits to the university.
I do not mean to defend the university for taking money from students who were led to believe that a new football stadium would be built closer to campus. But, the ultimate purpose of any university program is to enhance the quality of the institution, and if the football team is not to be eliminated, then perhaps this is the best way to harness a struggling team to improve Northeastern at large.
‘- Jared Sugerman can be reached ‘
at [email protected].
