South Allegheny breaks ground for new stadium

By Beth Hope-Cushey

For the MVI

Ground was broken Tuesday on a $7.4 million recreation facility at South Allegheny High School. 

The new facility will include a 95,560-square-foot synthetic turf field, an accessible home grandstand with 1,947 seats, band grandstands with 132 seats, an accessible visitor grandstand with 508 seats, a 483-square-foot press box, a four-pole Musco Sportsfield lighting system, an ADA parking area and entrance, an electronic scoreboard with video display, a 4,500-square-foot entrance building with ticketing areas, restrooms, a concession stand and a covered plaza.

It will be located on the high school/middle school campus on Washington Boulevard in Liberty Borough. 

Superintendent Dr. Lisa Duval said the project, funded with a $10 million bond issue in February that also includes repairs to South Allegheny Elementary School, has been a long time coming. 

School Director Frank Cortazzo pointed out that the Gladiators’ current facility, Glassport Memorial Stadium, had more than $1 million of renovations about two years ago and the roof is already leaking.  

“That facility is in major disrepair,” he said. “It was time to move forward.”

Duval cited “many memories” at the stadium, which the district has used since 1966.

“My mom was a cheerleader there,” she said. “I marched in the band, and two years ago, my daughter graduated from that stadium.”  

She added that plenty of memories will be made at the new stadium.  

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