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Thornton Academy has raised $523,374 for the privately funded project, set for completion in 2011.

By MIKE LOWE, Staff Writer November 7, 2009

SACO — Back in early September, Thornton Academy played its first home football game of the season in a driving rainstorm. The grass field at Paul S. Hill Stadium got carved up and never had a chance to recover.

School officials hope that will soon become a problem of the past.

On Friday, they introduced an ambitious $1.2 million project at Hill Stadium that will include artificial turf, lights, renovation of the track that surrounds the football field and reconstruction of the school's four tennis courts.

Thornton Academy is a private town academy, meaning it serves as Saco's high school. Officials said they have already raised $523,374 toward the project, which is expected to be complete for the start of the 2011-12 school year.

While acknowledging that fundraising is difficult in the current economy, they are confident that the remaining money will be raised.

"We really have had remarkable support from our community," said Carl Stasio, the headmaster at Thornton. "We've been blessed with that."

Eric Purvis, the president of the school's board of trustees, said Thornton's annual fund brings in about $300,000. Most of it will be devoted to the project for the next two fiscal years.

"I'm very confident people will get on board with this," he said. "I think it's going to generate a lot of excitement and actually bring in more than what we've brought in the past."

Purvis and Stasio said the school's growth – Thornton's enrollment has increased by more than 600 students in the last 25 years, to 1,471 as of last month – makes the project essential. The field at Hill Stadium is used for football and soccer, and by many youth leagues.

By adding artificial turf – specifically FieldTurf, a very popular and durable surface used by professional and collegiate teams – and lights, they hope to lengthen the seasons and allow more teams to use Hill Stadium. The tennis courts and track are used extensively by Saco residents.

"The need is there, the need is definitely there," said Purvis, who was a star athlete at the school.

The project is part of Thornton's overall growth, which includes a $3.1 million dormitory for international students that opened this fall. Plans include another dorm, to be built soon on what's now the field hockey field. The field hockey team likely will play on the baseball field's outfield next fall.

"All of this has been done with private money," said Stasio. "We've been very fortunate."

Purvis estimated that the school has made $18 million in capital improvements in the last 20 years.

This latest project has been funded in several ways:

• The school received a $200,000 estate gift from the late Mary (Yates) Allard, class of 1932, and her late husband, Charles Allard. They were members of the 1811 Society – named for the year Thornton opened – whose members name the school in their estate plans.

• Thornton's board of trustees unanimously pledged $164,800 to the project.

• Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution made a $100,000 pledge.

• The Thornton Fund has contributed $58,574 this year.

Having lights on the turf field would let teams practice longer and allow parents to attend games that would otherwise be played in the midafternoon.

But, said Stasio, Thornton still plans to play its home football games on Saturday afternoons. The lights would be used for soccer, field hockey and lacrosse games.

"This is not about playing Friday night football," said Stasio. "It's about extending the use of our field."

Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at:

mlowe@pressherald.com