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Beloit Memorial Hopes to Fund Athletic Facility Improvements with Private Donations
Just a few months into his tenure as athletic director, Dan Gratz was well aware of the need to upgrade Beloit Memorial’s athletic facilities nearly across the board.
He also had a mandate to trim the athletic department budget from a cash-strapped School District of Beloit.
So tackle the funding of a multi-million dollar plan for developing new athletic facilities with zero funding from the school?
Good thing Gratz considers himself a problem solver.
Officially, Beloit Memorial is exploring the possibility of a multi-phase plan for the facilities which Gratz is optimistic private donations can fund.
While no checks have been written, Gratz said there is definite interest.
“We have people but not dollars yet committed to the project,” he said. “We have this broken down over multiple phases. Two have been completed with new lights at Jacobson Field and new fencing there. The lights are obvious and the fencing is something you don’t generally notice, but drastically improves our security.”
The next phase is also located at Jacobson Field, where a turf field and resurfaced track are the goal with a price tag of $2.9 million.
“It’s a pretty substantial amount, but it gets us a track and a turf field that is sustainable for 12-17 years depending on usage and how it holds up,” Gratz said. “I was just at Union Grove and we walked their field which was installed in 2012 and they expect to get another six to eight more years out of it.”
Of course a turf field at Jacobson Field isn’t exactly a new idea. Gratz’s predecessor as AD, Jon Dupuis, had already tried to line up donors for the project before his departure after the 2023-24 school year.
“Being transparent, I piggybacked off of what Jon had already done,” Gratz said. “We started having conversations with potential donors in August. There were people who were committed previously, but there was a holdup because of an expectation that the school would be providing some money. I’ve been transparent from the beginning telling people that we will not be asking the school for any money for this.
“Jacobson Field is massively dated. We spend about $75,000 a year both directly and indirectly to take care of that field with the man hours and equipment it involves with fertilizing, watering, cutting and lining. Because of that, we have to bring in outside groups to help with the maintenance.”
Gratz said he would like to see Jacobson Field become a facility that can host an unlimited amount of games that would bring the city together.
“Since day one that’s been what I wanted to do, to serve the K12 community and have every youth organization and every elementary and middle school event played here,” Gratz said. “I know we can do that with turf.”
The current grass field can only support about 30 events a season before breaking down, Gratz said.
“We are right at that limit right now,” he said. “We want to celebrate our spaces and right now it’s pretty hard with the cracked concrete, the worn track and the lumpy field. I think we have enough people in this city who want to see things drastically improve there.”
Gratz said improvements at Jacobson Field are just the start. The next phase of the project involves upgrades at the Barkin Arena, whose floor can no longer be refinished, and bleacher seating that is barely safety compliant.
Other phases in the overall project include turfing the entire Brassworks complex located across from the high school. That would include a softball and a baseball diamond which would allow for varsity games to be played there as well as a football/soccer field that could be used for practice and/or games. Finally, the school has a green space adjacent to its parking lot and maintenance building large enough to accommodate a facility with an enclosed track and a multi-use area.
Those, however, take a backseat to the major focus, the first phase.
“We have to ask ourselves what do we have that keeps people here?” Gratz said.
He figures people thinking the grass is greener somewhere else might never look elsewhere if Jacobson Field’s grass is artificial and green for years to come.
