BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Parents and student-athletes alike in Belchertown reacted after hearing their high school’s Stadium Field may be closed through the fall. The school administration said it’s a safety issue, caused by halted grass growth from a lack of water.

The closure will change the dynamic of the fall sport season, especially for rising seniors in their final chapter. As beautiful as these fields here look, Belchertown High School’s administration says they might not actually be safe. And that’s leaving fall sport athletes with limited options.

“We want to play on our home field, but I think this field needs a rest right now,” Belchertown High School’s Principal Christine Vigneux said that in a meeting at the end of June, potentially displacing three sports teams and dozens of athletes.

The school’s administration said a water ban left the field short of water and fresh grass. Their solution is to install a new well and irrigation system — but this would make the field unavailable at least through December.

It’s a decision that, for some, would mark the end of their run playing under the bright lights of home field.

“It’s definitely disappointing not being able to play on a stadium that we play on, that I’ve personally been gifted enough to play on for the past three years,” said rising senior and captain of the Belchertown Boys Varsity Soccer team Jacob Gladu.

In such a small, tight-knit town that’s packed the stands for those that came before, they may not get that same treatment, “from a very young age, like as a supporting fan, ball girls, all such like that, we’ve came and we’ve supported and we’ve seen those high schoolers playing here, playing under the lights, playing at this nice stadium, getting the high school experience as a senior,” said rising senior and captain for the Belchertown Girls Varsity Soccer team Morghan Litz.

For parents of players like Morghan watching from the sidelines, questions of the future continue to swirl, “is it going to go into next year? I have a rising junior as well. Is it going to affect her senior year? I just think that this field has really not been in the best condition for the last 10 years. So what is it about this year?” said Amanda Litz.

It wouldn’t just have an impact athletically — but also financially, “a huge part of our fundraising to support the program comes from the ability to use the snack shack at the stadium field and to have raffles and to do these other special events. Our youth night, which were involved with Belchertown United Football Club,” said Lisa Stahl, the President of the Belchertown High School Boys Soccer Boosters Club.

It’s unknown where scheduled home games would take place, but athletes we spoke with all shared the same sentiment, it won’t interrupt their goals to succeed, “we practice no matter what. We just look forward to it. We push that pass where like, we’re going to play on this field. No matter what people think, we tell ourselves we’re going to play on this field and we’re going to go win games on this home field,” Gladu said.

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