ludlow sports complex information

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Our high school renovations took place in 2000 and the sports complex was completed in 2001.  At that time it was suggested to have a rubberized track on top of an asphalt base.  

Through the years we have looked into replacing the track but as municipal budgeting goes the funds were never fully available.  Unfortunately, now we are at a point where it needs to be done. Our committee is looking into doing significant fundraising.  A recession in 2008 brought cuts to municipal budgets.  Cuts ranging from $400 - $500 thousand dollars affected the school department budget for a few years (2009, 2010 and 2011).  At this time the track was still in good operating shape; resurfacing was not a priority.  In 2014, we learned of the deteriorating drainage system. Overtime, the drainage that is in place for the field deteriorated and led to the breakdown of the subsurface around the track. This was a contributing factor to the current poor conditions. The School Committee approached the Capital Improvement Committee to request funding for an upgrade to the facility.  Funding was approved in 2015; funding that only covered resurfacing improvements to the pole vault and long jump runways but not the track itself.  Additional requests were made in 2017.  The track was shut to down for competition in 2018 and in 2019 the track was deemed unfit for use for athletic and recreational use and shut down completely.   

Our town is currently in the building phases for a new school, a new senior center and the Public Safety communications system is in place for an upgrade totaling $4 million. Funding options are very limited. It is our goal to offset some of the costs of this project through fundraising, but we will still need to raise and appropriate some funding in order to accomplish this project. 

The complex is not utilized solely by our student population.  It is a community complex.  Many other events are held on site at the complex.  To name a few; Relay for Life of Ludlow (cancer walk), Sgt. Joshua Desforges Challenge, Ludlow youth sports, Randall Boys and Girls Club youth sports, Hampden County Sheriff's Department and many others.  All have been displaced as a result of this closing.  

Ludlow is fortunate to have other fields in which to hold baseball, softball, soccer and football; but there is only one track.