This past week was a typical one in Seaside. With the summer season slowly winding down, the streets, beaches and roadways were busy with people enjoying late-August weather. Locals were making final preparations for the first days of school while others were both ending and beginning their respective sports seasons.
Very few structures allow for a multitude of sports to be played on its surface, but the recently-renovated Broadway Field in Seaside is one of those places. Baseball, soccer, rugby, softball and football are just a handful of the events the new artificial turf is perfect for (and has already hosted). Softball and football games happening over the span of 24 hours in Seaside last week is just one of the reasons I’m so excited about this evolving facility located just off Highway 101.
Last October, the much-anticipated dream of this facility happening became reality when Seaside High School opened Broadway Field with its first home football game of the 2011 season. The game, played against visiting Yamhill-Carlton, was a loss in the record books, but it ushered in a new era of sports in this Clatsop County community of 6,500.
Over the past 11 months construction continued on the facility as the turf around the baseball/softball field was laid, dugouts were built and bleachers were added or moved to accommodate the transformed complex. But the biggest addition was when enough community money was raised (approximately $180,000) to lift six light standards into the sky this past July so that events could happen throughout the year and well into the evening hours.
That final hurdle is what made this past Thursday (softball) and Friday (football) possible in Seaside. Recreational softball games aren’t new to community residents, but playing them under a beautifully lit, state-of-the-art structure is. The same goes for football. Last year’s games were played on the new field, but games were finished before dark since lights had yet to be added.
The results of those games really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but I’ll tell you that my team came out on the losing end of the softball game while the Seaside varsity football team defeated visiting Warrenton 50-0. Ultimately though, we’re all winners when it comes to being able to utilize Broadway Field. Football and soccer games will be played here this fall and a rugby match between Oregon State and Willamette University is scheduled for October 20.
On your next visit to Seaside, stop by and marvel at this fantastic gem in our community. And if you’re lucky enough to participate in an activity on the field, soak it all in. The facility is a community dream with lots of local equity poured into its development. See you in Seaside!
