Top Five Flashback: Football #3
NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University athletics resumes its summer series with a daily flashback to the top five moments of 2016-17 for each of its 19 varsity sports. Beginning with Memorial Day (Monday, May 29, 2017) and finishing with the final day of August, 95 moments (19 x 5) will be shared to relive the most exciting happenings of the most recent Seahawk season.
It did not happen on the field, it's happening to the field.
Salve Regina University is planning to spend up to $3 million on the development of a synthetic turf field complex at Newport's Toppa Field in Freebody Park.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for the City of Newport," Mayor Harry Winthrop told Newport This Week. The upgrades will be completed in exchange for the right to use the city-owned facility for 40 years, according to the contract.
The public will continue to have access to the park for athletic and recreational use. Because the new synthetic field will allow athletes to play uninterrupted in all seasons, there will be time for non-university sports.
"The basis for this agreement is to ensure that the needs of both Salve Regina University and the City of Newport are met for the use of Freebody. The essence and intent of the agreement is to have Salve Regina football and softball, as well as Rogers football and softball schedules have priority," reads the contract. The facility will also be used by a number of university varsity programs, including soccer, lacrosse and field hockey.
The playing times are specified in the contract for the university and high school teams. For example, Rogers football and athletics will have the fields from 3-10 p.m. on four to five Mondays and up to seven Fridays in the fall. Rogers softball will have priority for field usage for spring on the designated field. In the summer, the fields will be available to adult leagues and university summer clinics.
"All usage times will be discussed on a yearly basis to ensure that the needs of both Salve Regina and the City of Newport are met," reads the contract. "The parties acknowledge that Freebody is a publicly owned municipal recreational facility and must be available for reasonable public use. Overall control and management of Freebody shall remain with the city."
The project is slated to be completed by the summer. The scope includes removing the topsoil from the site, the installation of an underground stormwater management system and drainage, new equipment such as football goal posts and backstops and the synthetic turf.
Salve Regina University
Salve Regina athletics sponsors 20 NCAA Division III varsity sports for men and women. The Seahawks compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC - baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, women's track and field, women's volleyball), New England Hockey Conference (NEHC - women's ice hockey), New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA - sailing). Beginning in 2017-18, Salve Regina will also sponsor equestrian as a varsity sport, and adds junior varsity programs for baseball and men's lacrosse.