FWCD Celebrates New Fields with Dedication Ceremony

Fort Worth Country Day crossed the finish line on November 30, 2022, celebrating a milestone with a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony for the athletic track and turf fields that were renovated. The dedication was attended by community members, Upper School students and many of the 21 donors who made the upgrades possible. The upgrades included excavating one of the School’s two field hockey fields, Rosacker Stadium field and Barrett Havran Track, and superseding them with international-caliber surfaces and technologies rivaled by no other high school in North Texas. The field hockey field transitioned into a “wet” field, only the third such field in Texas and the first in the DFW area.

Project donors cut the ribbon and dedicate the new field hockey field.

At the dedication, Athletic Director Leigh Block kicked off the celebration, welcoming everyone to Howard Family Field in Rosacker Stadium and highlighting how the new facilities will set the School apart from other schools and what makes them unique.

“Since May, I have had a front-row seat to watch the progression of this project,” Block said. “In just six months, we added a state-of-the-art field hockey field, the all-purpose turf field behind me and this new first-class track.”

Student-athletes Rachel Nelson ’23 and Paul Ray ’23 followed, sharing what the new facilities mean to them and how they will benefit Falcons in the future.

Student-athletes Rachel Nelson ’23 and Paul Ray ’23 enjoy the event.

“Leading up to my senior year of football, we only had three scheduled [home] games because of the construction of the field, which was difficult to process since it’s our last season on this field,” Ray said. “When we had our first practice after it was finished, the whole football team agreed the wait was well worth it.

“I was granted the opportunity to play three times on this incredible field and, after every game, regardless of the outcome, I was so grateful that I was able to go to a school where I could compete on such incredible facilities and receive such a great education,” Ray continued. “One of my favorite memories on this field was our senior night and our toughest loss. After the game, the seniors went out to the middle of the field and sat on the new logo, and we talked about our favorite memories throughout our career.”

Head of School Eric Lombardi thanked everyone involved with the project. He then spoke directly to the students. “Upper Schoolers, you are not the only students who will benefit from these amazing facilities. There are generations of Country Day athletes who will think it is normal to have a state-of-the-art track and field facility, lacrosse, soccer, field hockey and football turfs,” he said. “Beyond our own Falcons, there are athletes from other schools who will compete here and benefit from our good fortune and will envy what you get to have as your home field and home track advantage.

Head of School Eric Lombardi addresses the crowd.

“You all get how big a deal it is to have these facilities because you ran on patchwork tracks that lost one foot of elevation from one end to the other. You all played on a soccer field in which you had to postpone games because of bad field conditions. You all get how big a deal these facilities are because you played field hockey on a field that is half the speed of top field hockey fields,” Lombardi continued. “Your presence here today, Upper Schoolers, is important and symbolic. Instead of writing a thank-you note to the 21 families who made these projects possible, you’re here to say thank you in person.”

The students shared their enthusiasm with applause before Lombardi introduced the Howard family, the project donors.

Robert Howard (speaking) and his family, Venessa, Sutton ’23 and Sloan ’25, were project donors. Howard Family Field is named in their honor.

“We were all excited when we got the opportunity to help with this,” said Robert Howard. “It wasn’t just us; there were 21 families. It takes everybody. We’re excited to see where it’s at today. It’s a gorgeous facility.”

Closing out the remarks was Board of Trustees President Randy Eisenman ’93. “In the spirit of gratitude, I would like to acknowledge some very special people who made these extraordinary athletics facilities a reality, '' Eisenman said. “First, I would like to thank Venessa and Robert Howard. Robert, when you spoke at our groundbreaking ceremony last spring, you described this project as transformational … thank you for your leadership and generosity in helping transform our athletic facilities into a truly elite caliber.”

The track was completed in January and is ready for the 2023 track & field season. FWCD hosted its first meet on the new track on March 4.