Marist Rebuilds, Relocates, Renovates Its Athletic Fields

Situated on the South Side of Chicago, isn’t blessed with a plethora of real estate as are number of its Catholic League counterparts.

So when the administration laid out a master plan to redo the athletic facilities, some creativity was needed.

After more than a year of planning, Marist moved forward with its proposal last fall to redo the on-campus football stadium and relocate a baseball field that shared a grass surface with the football field. The plan includes making the varsity baseball field an enclosed facility.

“There has never been anything that impacted the entire area in my tenure here, and I’ve been here over 18 years,” said Walter Zintak, director of building operations at Marist. “There was never anything to this extent where we would have to use off-site facilities for our teams in the reconstruction and rebuilding of those venues.”

All baseball and softball fields are now located on the west side of Marist’s campus, with the varsity baseball field getting a major overhaul that will include outfield fences and in-ground dugouts. The dimensions of the new field will be 320 feet down the foul lines, 365 in the alleys and 380 feet to center field.

Marist has left room in its plans to install a press box but will wait until more money is available. Bleachers will be installed by spring, but it’s uncertain if seating will be a temporary solution or a permanent structure.

“If we don’t have the money, we don’t spend it,” Marist Athletic Director Robert Lim said. “We plan to have some different things, and the infrastructure is there for it when we get more money. For now, the field is going to be there, the basics and some other things.”

With fences enclosing the new baseball diamond, Marist will also be able to host postseason games, according to IHSA regulations.

The football stadium on the east side of Marist’s campus received a brand-new turf field from the construction project after the administration removed the lower-level baseball stadium. Before the renovation, the baseball stadium’s right field extended into the football playing surface. Now the football stadium is enclosed with a fence.

“The field is probably one of the only ones on the South Side to be FieldTurf Revolution,” Zintak said. “No one else has this. It’s brand-new.”

The new surface from FieldTurf is designed to give good traction and better simulate a natural playing surface. Zintak called it “state of the art.” Northwestern University also uses a FieldTurf surface at Lakeside Field, which serves as the stadium for its lacrosse and soccer teams.  

According to Zintak, the construction crews have finished the first phase of the project. The football field is ready to go for Marist’s first home game against Niles Notre Dame on Friday, while the baseball field will be available for the varsity team’s spring season.

And for at least the immediate future, all home games will remain on Marist’s property.

“What we really want to do is utilize the space we do have to the best of our abilities and keep our activities on campus,” Zintak said.