A state-of-the-art sports facility at the John F. Kennedy High School campus is unlike any other in NYC and it won’t just serve students. The revitalized space was also designed with the broader Bronx community in mind.
What was once a worn and aging complex has been transformed into a one-of-a-kind venue, complete with Bluetooth-enabled LED stadium lights, fresh synthetic turf and a towering, high-tech video scoreboard. Although students have been using the facility since 2023, future plans to open it to the public were formally announced this month.
The multi-million-dollar renovation was much overdue, with the last updates to the space completed more than a decade ago. The old football field posed significant safety hazards. One student broke their arm after tripping over a hole in the field and on especially hot days, others suffered burns from the exposed black rubber pellets packed beneath the turf.
That harsh terrain is gone, replaced with a lush, green blanket of faux grass – and no rubber pellets in sight.
“I think it’s fabulous, not only for the students, but for the community and families to come out, set up and relax when it’s ready,” Robert Williams said, the Department of Education’s director of facilities for the Bronx. “It’s that Great Lawn kind of atmosphere.”
Anchoring the football field is a massive 30-foot-wide, 18-foot-tall video scoreboard capable of live streaming games and projecting outdoor movies. Williams noted it was the first of its kind throughout the city, although other schools have since followed the lead. The long-term vision includes community movie nights under the stars.
The upgrades didn’t stop there. The baseball field now features brand-new sod, a clay warning track lining the perimeter to prevent players from running into the newly installed padded fencing and an electronic scoreboard. New tennis and volleyball courts, equipped with modern drainage systems, were also added with eventual public access in mind.
The $5 million renovation was made possible through contributions from Councilmembers Carmen De La Rosa and Eric Dinowitz, as well as Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson – each allocating $1 million. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams contributed another $2 million.
Still, the future of the facility goes beyond serving the neighborhood – part of the goal is to elevate Kennedy’s sports program to compete on a national level, particularly in track and field.
“We’re trying to make it a premier site,” Oscar Martinez said, Kennedy’s varsity football coach. “Right now, the only site that holds [nationally recognized running] meets in the Bronx is Van Cortlandt Park. We have city championship games and youth events, but many athletes have to leave the Bronx because there’s nowhere to play.”
When it comes to track and field, the borough lacks any venue equipped for high-level competitions in events like hurdles, throws and jumps. The Kennedy campus hopes to help fill that gap.
However, key additions are still missing from the athletic facility and they’re delaying neighborhood access. Among them are the football field bleachers, which Martinez estimates haven’t been replaced since the 1970s and are out of code and not ADA compliant.
But that’s not the biggest obstacle to opening up the complex.
“We can’t have people here until we add outdoor bathrooms,” Mark House said, principal of the Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy. “The trick is, if the community has to funnel through the actual school building, that becomes problematic.”
Currently, family members of student athletes are escorted into the school building by safety staff to access restrooms on gameday – a temporary workaround. However, completing additional upgrades ultimately depends on funding.
Martinez, who first pushed for the now-completed renovations, said he’s already begun lobbying for the next round of investments.
“One of the biggest selling points, as far as getting the funding from elected officials, is that it’s supposed to be a community asset,” he stated.