These are the plans for Bishop Guertin's "Project Homecoming" that involves putting a turf field at the Elliott Field Complex. (Photo courtesy of Bishop Guertin)

NASHUA – The Bishop Guertin High School girls lacrosse team was conducting its first practice of the season in the chilly weather at Stellos Stadium on Monday.

A year from now, if everything works out, they and other Cardinal rectangular sports teams will be enjoying the comforts of home instead.

The school made public on Monday its plans to build a field turf field on part of the Elliott Field site and make other improvements to the Elliott Field Complex. Plans, Guertin principal Jason Strniste told The Telegraph, have already been submitted to the Nashua Planning Boad and the school is hopeful to be on the board’s agenda at its next scheduled meeting on April 2.

A Google document/message was sent to parents yesterday by Strniste spelling out the school’s plans. The campus upgrade is entitled “Project Homecoming” and the main focus is the rectangular field which would serve as a home for boys and girls soccer, field hockey, and boys and girls lacrosse. The plan also includes lights, a press box, and stands that will provide seating for 800 to 1,000. There are also upgrades planned for the baseball and softball fields. The seating figure, Strniste said, matches the population in the school so some non athletic events – such as graduation – can be held on the field as well.

“We’re targeting the JV or small varsity games that don’t draw a huge crowd,” he said. “We realized a lot of our programs here would never play a varsity game at home over the course of four years the way we’re configured now. We’re trying to improve that experience. … It will make it easier to participate or to support sports here at BG. … The reality is this is something we’ve needed to do for awhile.”

Strniste added that the school still intends to maintain its relationship with the city to continue to use Stellos Stadium, mainly for all varsity football home games plus games for the other rectangular sports that may draw a bigger crowd than usual.

“We definitely value that relationship (with the city) and BG has been part of that equation since Stellos opened,” Strniste said. “We have no intention of changing that.”

What’s the cost? This project will be paid for with school funds Strniste said “have already been identified.”

Although Strniste did not reveal the total cost, he did say the goal was to have school funding and not have to raise tuition.

“We’re going to have to see how the timeline pans out but the hope right now is to have a shovel in the ground early in the summer and possibly have it done sometime during the fall,” Strniste said.

While work is being done, there’s still enough room on the grass at Elliott Field to still have practices and games in the fall such as JV football, soccer, etc

Strniste and the document sent to parents also ephasized that the school is full steam ahead in fundraising and land clearing for the Keegan Athletic Complex on Groton Road. The Telegraph reported plans for that a couple of years ago. It includes multiple fields that will be used for practices and sub-varsity contests. The cost for that is an estimated $20-25 million.

Striniste said the school realizes it doesn’t have the room for all the practices, games, etc. so the Groton Road project is necessary, and the first phase will take one to two years to complete. But school officials also realized it could build one turf field on campus.

Another faction of the athletic facility at the school is the neighbors, as the field is across the street from a residential area. Strniste said there have been a number of meetings already with residents to keep them updated.

The lighting will be of a specialized type system to light only the field and not impact the homes nearby, a system “that will keep the lights’ pollution confined to the field itself.” Some schools, such as Winnacunnet of Hampton, use a similar system, Strniste said, and games would not go beyond 10 p.m. and likely be done much, much earlier than that.

“We’ve been reaching out to the neighbors,”Strniste said. “Of course traffic is a concern. Part of this project is a reconfiguration of our driveways, and that will create more space on campus for cars to queue up, and that may alleviate some of that rush.”

Strniste said the school has done a traffic study and that “We’re not creating a huge change to the dynamic of the traffic with what we’re doing.” Also, he added, the capacity of the turf field stands will be about the same as the school’s gym for basketball games.

These are all things the school will also be relaying to the city’s Planning Board. Strniste said the school’s understanding is that “We’re in compliance with Zoning, and the Planning Board is our city stop. We also have some state processes that are in motion as we speak.” Those, he said, are environmental.

The Elliott Field project is part of the school’s strategic plan that was developed about a year ago to improve the campus while still building the Keegan Athletic Complex.

Strniste says the school expects some scrutiny of the project, and in his message to parents notes that about a third of the school’s student body is from Nashua, and is asking those Nashua families to advocate for the project.

“We need your help,” he wrote. “As with any project that goes before local boards, the voices of residents can make the difference between success and failure.”

Also, he noted, the Elliott Field project gives Nashua another turf field that the community would also be able to use. The only other field turf fields in the city are Stellos and Rivier University’s Joanne Merrill Field.

The overall idea behind Elliott Field, Strniste, is to keep students from hitting the road as much as they do to go to Stellos, the Back River Complex in Bedford, and other facilities Guertin uses for practices, etc. Also, it allows other students and teachers to see games right on campus.

“We do,” Strniste said, “want to have some field space that is totally under our oversight.”