Cardinal Stadium Open for GHS Football

Greenwich Public School officials have opened Cardinal Stadium for football practice, that's scheduled to begin Monday night.

According to an announcement posted on the Greenwich Public Schools website, "Football: practice will begin for all football players on Monday, August 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 in Cardinal Stadium - all players must park on Hillside Road and enter the high school through the front entrance."

Since mid-July, all athletic fields have been closed excavated at the rear of the Hillside Road school contained PCBs and other toxins. The site  is part of the construction site for the $28 million MISA (Music Instructional Space and Auditorium) project. Work has continued at the south end of the campus where classroom space will be added.

Work to of contaminated dirt piled up behind the current auditorium and in the parking lot, began late last week. On Aug. 4, the Board of Estimate and Taxation released $1.3 million for the cleanup.

On Thursday, a line of large dump trucks waited to be filled with the material from area that remains fenced off and off-limits. One driver said he was told the dirt was being taken to a facility in upstate New York but he did not have additional information. School officials are hoping to be able to clean up and have available for parking for staff when teacher orientation begins Aug. 29.

Because of the lack of parking, seniors who usually have will not be allowed to commute in their own vehicles. Parking in the rear lot as well as in front of the school along Hillside Road will be restricted - for staff only.

Meanwhile, school officials are calculating how many additional school buses will be needed to accommodate the anticipated influx of riders.

Also scheduled to begin Monday were tryouts for the school's water polo teams. According to the website, those athletes also are ordered to park on Hillside Road on Monday and enter the school through the main entrance.

"As conditions continue to change, we appreciate your patience while we make every attempt to provide our teams with the best possible facilities. Please continue to check this site for daily updates," officials said in the announcement.