Concordia Lutheran High School is planning a series of big improvements to the Zollner Athletic Complex over the next year.
A new field turf, a resurfaced running track and bigger scoreboard are among the changes that will be seen at Fred Zollner Memorial Stadium, head of school Mychal Thom announced in a YouTube video shared May 15.
Additionally, the 12 tennis courts adjacent to the stadium will also be redone for the first time in nearly two decades.
The wheels started turning on upgrades to the complex last fall, when the school was gifted a new video scoreboard for the football field.
“We started to look at other projects that also needed to be done at the Zollner Athletic Complex. We started looking at how do we put this all together and gain support.”
Through private donations and foundational grants, Concordia has so far secured more than 75 percent of the funding needed for the projects, Thom adds.
The field turf will replace the grass surface at Zollner, which has taken a beating over the last several years, when Concordia and Bishop Dwenger both used the stadium for home football games. Dwenger moved an expanded on-campus football stadium in the Fall of 2019.
Additionally, the Cadet soccer, lacrosse and marching band programs can use the field turf for practices, games and rehearsals. And Concordia’s feeder schools will also be allowed to use the athletic complex for a variety of events.
“We’re excited not only for our Concordia students, but also for the entire Lutheran Schools community, where Zollner becomes a place where everyone is able to come in and participate.”
The upgrades are expected to be done in time for the start of the 2021-22 school year, and Thom says construction crews have already benefitted from in-person classes not being in session and school buildings closed through June 30.
The original Zollner Stadium opened May 30, 1947, and was used for a variety of community events and home to the Zollner Pistons softball team. In 1958, Lutheran Education Properties purchased the stadium as part of the grounds for the new Concordia Lutheran High School. The softball diamond was converted to a football field, where the Cadets started play in the Fall of 1959.
The first Zollner Stadium was torn down and replaced with a new Fred Zollner Memorial Stadium, which was dedicated August of 2003. The stadium, track, tennis courts, Massucci Baseball Field and softball field are all part of the larger Fred Zollner Athletic Complex.
Upgrades to the complex have sparked assessment at other Concordia athletic facilities, like the gymnasium, for potential renovations in the coming years.
Concordia is one of 26 high schools that partner with Parkview Sports Medicine for athletic training, nutrition, sports performance, athletic rehab and other sports medicine services for Cadet student-athletes. Learn more at www.parkviewsportsmedicine.com.