OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen Fredonia resident Ed Schrantz, the district’s junior varsity softball coach, spoke at a recent Board of Education meeting about the need for a new athletic complex.

A new voice spoke on the same topic that has come up multiple times in recent meetings of the Fredonia Board of Education.

Ed Schrantz, a Fredonia resident and junior varsity softball coach, became the latest member of the community to urge the Fredonia Central School District to consider installing a new multi-sport turf athletic complex.

“In a northern latitude like we have, you really need to think about installing turf fields for the baseball, softball, football, and soccer teams,” Schrantz said.

At its latest meeting, Schrantz presented the Board of Education with an example of a complex recently installed at Grand Island. “A lot of the problems they had, we have, as well,” he said.

Safety has been a concern of many to voice their concerns surrounding the district’s field conditions over the years. Schrantz also raised how that concern would be alleviated by installing a turf complex. “The field OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen

Fredonia resident Ed Schrantz, the district’s junior varsity softball coach, spoke at a recent Board of Education meeting about the need for a new athletic complex.

conditions are safer if you are playing on turf, as opposed to the uneven fields we currently have back there,” Schrantz said.

Schrantz highlighted that by being able to reduce the amount of rainouts of games and practices, the wear and tear on the district’s indoor facilities would decrease dramatically. Currently, when weather or field conditions do not allow for practices or games to be held outdoors, baseball and softball teams practice indoors in the gym. The strain put on the gym floors, walls, and bleachers would be lessened by allowing the teams to practice outdoors, as their sports were intended to be played.

Schrantz also highlighted the decreased cost and labor to a new facility once it is installed because maintaining a turf facility is much easier day-to-day than a natural grass and dirt field. “There’s almost zero maintenance once the installation takes place. All the lines are already embedded into the turf. There’s no lining, there’s no dragging, there’s no mowing. You can save on costs for that,” he said.

The possibility for revenue to be recouped by the district once a new athletic complex is installed was also highlighted by Schrantz. He highlighted potentially serving as a host for Section VI playoff games, like Dunkirk has in the past, as well as renting the field out to local club teams in the summer.

Schrantz noted the district’s property behind the school is large enough to support the new complex on-site. He also noted that a new concession stand could be included, as well as bathrooms at the facility – an improvement he highlighted the need for by referencing how dark it is in the portable restrooms at the Orange Bowl. When teams practice behind the school, if the school building is not open, athletes have to go all the way across the street to use the restroom at an off-site business.

In the Grand Island complex example, Schrantz highlighted how their facility provides space for multiple games or practices to be held at once, such as a football game or practice as well as soccer. He also highlighted how temporary fence/wall could be installed during baseball and softball seasons. Like Grand Island does, a seasonal fence could be put up at the beginning of the spring season, then taken down after the spring season concludes so the field does not require day-to-day maintenance of a temporary fence being wheeled out. Currently, the district’s fields do not have a fence, so if a ball is hit beyond a fielder, it just continues to roll until it runs out of steam.

Schrantz also highlighted the success of many of the district’s teams, especially in recent years, despite facilities that do not match the level of success of the school’s athletic programs.

“I’ve been coaching a while for the district, and I love coaching. We have a lot of great athletes here,” Schrantz said. “Just in the last calendar year, we have a Section VI softball champion, a Section VI basketball champion, and a Section VI runner-up football team. We have the athletes, we have the competitive desire.”

Schrantz added, “I’m not familiar with the budgeting process of this or when it can happen, but if it can, and if it’s something we can start working on today, I really think we need to look forward on this.”

Fredonia Superintendent Brad Zilliox addressed the comments made by Schrantz during his Superintendent’s Report portion of the meeting. He highlighted that Young and Wright Architectural will be visiting the district in the coming weeks to assess the needs of the district overall looking toward a capital project. “This definitely connects with Mr. Schrantz’s comments tonight regarding the athletic fields and potential work that could be done,” said Zilliox. “One of the things that we are asking Young and Wright to do is to highlight the athletic field and facilities in their assessment and in their recommendations. … We look forward to more information about that.”

Schrantz ended his presentation to the Board of Education by urging them to take action after many years of discussion on the topic.

“I think it would be great for the district,” Schrantz said. “It would be something great for you to do, to really put your imprint on this community. You could be the board that did it.”