In North Central Mass., there are pockets of high school sports fans who make attending games a bit more than just watching a contest; it’s an event at certain venues.
While a classic game or memorable play can happen anywhere, there are places that the student bodies make it fun no matter what happens.
So which gyms and fields have been my favorites over the years? It can be tough to narrow it down, but that’s what I’m attempting to do for football, baseball/softball and basketball.
Alas, I won’t be naming a favorite for hockey due to a lack of rinks to choose from, but my home away from home during the winter is the Wallace Civic Center at Fitchburg State University, so it’s safe to say that would win that competition in a landslide (with all due respect to the wonderful Iorio Arena at Cushing Academy).
Football (and fall sports in general, in this case): Doyle Field.
The turf is great and makes Doyle versatile. One can watch a soccer game, a field hockey game and then a football in succession when everything aligns on a fall Friday.
There’s usually a strong showing from the home fans on their side of the field and there aren’t many poor sightlines from the seats. The same goes from the view from the press box, where only a sliver of each end zone can be obscured depending on where you’re seated.
The one knock on the facility? It can turn into something of a wind tunnel and the press box isn’t immune to being hit by gusts. Nitpicking? Maybe, but it’s as close as I could muster to a real complaint.
Honorable mention to both Crocker Field, the turf field at Nashoba Regional and Oakmont Regional’s Arthur I. Hurd Memorial Field. Crocker is a pleasure to see football game at, especially on Thanksgiving morning. And Nashoba’s press box is tough to beat, with windows protecting reporters from the elements – and it’s heated, which is a huge bonus. The press box at Oakmont is a bit distant, but the folks that run the show there on game nights – specifically Steve Slocum and Lincoln Stiles – are top-notch.
Basketball: For me, Oakmont takes the cake.
Leominster and Fitchburg both have ample seating and can be a great atmosphere for big games, but the student body in Ashburnham makes every game feel massive. Sure, there are only bleachers on one side of the gymnasium, but there are nights when it seems like added seats would have seismic ramifications. The occasional appearance by the SpartanCenter crew – with its ESPN desk facade – is always a nice touch.
It doesn’t hurt that the Spartans’ boys and girls basketball programs tend to be fairly competitive.
Also, a tip of the cap to WPI’s Harrington Auditorium, which is an outstanding gym to see a basketball game in. As much fun as it is to take in a sectional playoff game there, I’m going to stick to high school facilities for these superlatives.
Baseball/softball: Doyle Field gets its second nod, this time for baseball.
The sightlines aren’t perfect, but bleachers along each baseline provide plenty of seating and the view from behind home plate is more than adequate and not far from the field of play.
For softball, Monty Tech’s facility is well-kept and there’s plenty of parking far enough away that foul balls and home runs don’t threaten windshields while close enough that a three-mile hike isn’t required. The dugouts don’t obstruct views down the baselines or from the bleachers on the first-base side, which is great as well.
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May 26, 2020 at 01:20AM
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Column: These local venues take the cake - Sentinel & Enterprise
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