Students and teams at Waterford High will enjoy the benefits of the brand new turf and tennis courts this school year.
In a swift pair of projects carried out over the summer, new field turf was installed at the Waterford field stadium, and a new surface was laid out on the tennis courts. According to Chris Landry, director of athletics at Waterford, both construction efforts cost $1.2 million each.
Both projects were carried out in the summer months, after about a year of planning. According to the New London Day, the Waterford Board of Selectmen voted in August of 2024 to spend $2.4 million from the town’s unassigned fund balance to bring the athletic facilities up to date.
The Waterford Regional Town Managers approved the project in October 2024. The field and courts were closed over the summer when the new surfaces were installed, but were open by the time fall sports preseason practices started in mid-August.
The previous turf field, which replaced a grass field in 2011, was deteriorating from wear and tear. Plastic fibers from the artificial turf had broken, causing rips that had to be patched. It is estimated that about $40,000 of patchwork has been done to the field since 2020.
The patchwork, though, makes the field unsafe with uneven surfaces in addition to giving a more shabby appearance. The green field is brighter and not as worn.
The new turf shows brighter colors, with the red Lancer logo at the 50-yard line and blue endzone color with the Lancer nickname in large white letters.
“The new field looks great,” said Waterford sophomore and field hockey player Teresa Turner. “I don’t know if it was necessary. We could have waited. But it’s nice to get a new field.”
Waterford teams have enjoyed great success on the field recently. The football team made the CIAC playoffs last season. The girls’ soccer team won ECC Division I in 2023. The girls’ lacrosse team made the ECC Tournament championship game last spring.
In 2025, the girls’ tennis team defeated the usual ECC champ, Stonington, in Division I. While the team was outstanding, the condition of its five courts was not. Waterford had hosted ECC Tournaments in past years, but the court’s surface, which was last repaved in 2004, was cracking, creating tripping hazards and untrue bounces.
Joseph Steady, Waterford assistant girls tennis coach, believes it was time to update the court surface: “I think the new courts are a major improvement from the old ones…” The old ones had some long cracks and got to the point where some of the cracks were close to tripping hazards.”
Waterford athletes won’t be the only competitors to benefit from the new surfaces. Steady said many youth and adult tennis players use the courts in the fall and spring.
“The courts get lots of use from people every day,” Steady said. “The community plays a lot of tennis here.”
Waterford’s upgraded turf and courts are a great perk to the school and provide many benefits for Lancer athletes.
