BERKELEY – Mayor Carmen F. Amato, Council members and the Pepe family held the official ribbon cutting of the new turf field at Veterans Park in Berkeley Township, at the Sam Pepe Memorial Stadium.
The new all-purpose, multi-sport turf field will host football, soccer and lacrosse games, among other events. Sam Pepe Memorial Stadium already has lighting and stadium seating and is used by Berkeley’s youth sports leagues.
Mayor Amato thanked Council members Angelo Guadagno, John Bacchione, Sophia Gingrich, Keith Buscio & Judy Noonan for being a part of the ceremony and continued to thank Township Administrator John Camera as well as members of Berkeley Township Parks and Public Works Departments for completing the construction work needed to get the field ready. In addition, Mayor Amato wanted to publicly thank Bruno Associates, the township’s grant writers, and former DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, for granting the funding for the project.
The turf project received $750,000 of the $800,000 in funding from the State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program. The Township’s portion is $50,000.
“Initially the field will be used for games, but its use could be expanded for practices and other purposes in the future,” stated Mayor Amato. “This state-of-the-art field is also maintenance-free and has the potential to be used 24/7 since we won’t need to utilize Township staff to maintain the fields. This is a great opportunity for the athletes and residents of Berkeley Township.”
Joe Robertazzi, President of the Berkeley Golden Eagles AYF spoke at the ribbon cutting and stated “This opening is a new path to a successful season.” He went on to thank the Mayor and Council for their dedication to youth sports.
Berkeley Soccer Association President, Gene Makulinski, thanked Berkeley Township for the opportunity to play on the new field.
In closing, the Pepe family came forward to cut the ribbon on the field and was touched by the proud moment for their family.
Remington & Vernick Engineers completed the design work on the turf field.
“Initially the field will be used for games, but its use could be expanded for practices and other purposes in the future,” stated Mayor Amato. “This state-of-the-art field is also maintenance-free and has the potential to be used 24/7 since we won’t need to utilize Township staff to maintain the fields. This is a great opportunity for the athletes and residents of Berkeley Township.”
