The town of Winthrop stood up for its student-athletes, coaches, and residents alike with its overwhelming vote to support funding for the new Miller Field sports complex.
Residents of our  sports-minded community that has produced so many championship teams and college athletes understood the importance of having a great facility to complement the awesome $80 million school facility that is set to open for the 2016-17 school year. The new, all-turf Miller Field is a dream come true for our athletes who will know have a first-class field in which to compete. Rainy weather in the morning now will not mean that a game will be postponed in the afternoon. An all-turf field with superior drainage will mean that the field can be ready quickly following inclement weather.
As for the new track, we can only imagine what this means to all of our coaches and track athletes who will get to compete in a home meet for the first time in years.
The vote in Tuesday’s override election is symbolic of how far the town has come under the leadership of Town Manager James McKenna and our Council Presidents Thomas Reilly, Jeff Turco, Peter Gill, and our current President, Bob Driscoll Jr.
And how about another standing ovation for our Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo, whose incredible work in negotiations with Massport resulted in that generous $2.5 million donation for the Winthrop Foundation? The timing of that wonderful ceremony last Tuesday couldn’t haven’t been better — and we thank Speaker DeLeo and Massport CEO Thomas Glynn for believing in our town and its future.
Winthrop will now have not only one of the best high school/middle school facilities in Massachusetts, but an athletic complex next door that will be second to none. This is a great time to be a Winthrop student — and we’re sure that Athletic Director Matt Serino is overjoyed that his teams will be playing at a brand new Miller Field soon.
We expect that there will be several inquiries for area soccer leagues and youth camps to use the new Miller Field and that will create additional revenue for the town. But there is much to celebrate today and we congratulate all of our residents and town officials who supported this incredible sports project.