Problems have been discovered with the track that was installed with the new stadium during the 2015-2016 school year. Reportedly the part of the track that is by the marsh has been sinking in. According to the school track coach and english teacher Joseph Colbert, the track’s current problem is due to engineering flaws.

“On the far side of the track, over by the marsh, it’s actually sinking in. So that’s an engineering problem. The people who built the stadium need to address that.” said Colbert.

Others think that the track’s issues were not unexpected. District Athletic Director Sean McInnis stated that the situation is one that needed to be dealt with eventually.

“Whenever you invest in something as big as a new stadium, there are bound to be some issues that need to be dealt with afterwards.” said McInnis.

Triton’s new memorial stadium was built and funded by the Institution for Savings Bank.
The approval for the stadium was decided on October 26, 2015 at Salisbury Elementary School, and had an expected opening date for the fall of 2016.

There have also been other alleged issues regarding the track. Geometry teacher Joseph Galante shared his knowledge of the additional problems that faced it as well.

“I’ve heard that around corner three they had a hole in the track and it was originally solved by putting cones around it.” said Galante. “And then they filled in the hole but it ended up not working somehow.”

In an e-mail to the school district, Superintendent Brian Forget said that the problems with the stadium were not sudden as they had been developing over time.

“Some of you may have noticed that there has been some settling of the surfaces in various locations on the turf, track, and along the back portion of the stadium retaining wall against the marsh.” wrote Forget. “This is not new or sudden, as it has slowly developed over the last year.”

Forget also stated that there were no problems with the turf playing surface.

“After meeting with the general contractor today, I can confirm there is currently no issue with the turf playing surface.” wrote Forget.

When asked about what should be done to fix the issues Colbert said that the track would need to be ripped up and redone.

“They’re going to need to rip it up and re-put back in whatever they used to hold up the surface.” said Colbert.

While all of these issues are definitely creating a more difficult environment for student athletes, Sean McInnis wants to make it known that the problems will be sorted out in time.

“Things like this take time to resolve, but everyone is definitely doing the best that they can to get it under control.” said McInnis.