To the best of anyone's recollection and for the first time since the Bristol and Warren school districts merged to begin the 1993-94 term, sports at the secondary level will once again be played at Veterans Field in town, the former home of Warren High School athletics.

The Mt. Hope High School football team will use Vets Field as its home base for at least the next two falls as the new building on its Bristol campus is being constructed. Kickemuit Middle School teams will continue to use the field. Vets will also still be utilized by youth organizations and for other events.

Ownership of the field, though used for KMS sports after the merger, was transferred to the Town of Warren when the school department linked up with its neighbor.

This past weekend, Saturday, Aug. 30, the Huskies tested out their new digs during a scrimmage with Rogers. Mt. Hope will play three official games at Vets Field this fall, beginning with its 2025 season opener Friday afternoon, Sept. 12, against Classical. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.

The Huskies are back at the field the following week, Friday, Sept. 19, against Ponaganset also at 5. Mt. Hope spends the next several weeks on the road, before returning to Vets on Saturday, Oct. 25, for its annual Homecoming game at noon.

Getting Vets Field up to high school standards has been a bit of an effort. It required Bristol Warren Regional School District Athletic Director Christy Belisle to purchase new football uprights and a scoreboard. She also bought new soccer goals for the KMS teams. All in, the cost for the upgrades was around $30,000.

The uprights and soccer goals are already in place. Belisle said the new scoreboard was expected to be delivered and installed on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

In addition, handicap-accessible viewing stands from Mt. Hope High that will no longer be needed upon the renovation of the stadium there are being repurposed at Vets Field to increase seating capacity. Warren Parks & Recreation Department Director Tara Thibaudeau is overseeing the operations in town along with Building Official Matt Cabral and Department of Public Works Department Foreman Scott Almeida.

"It’s been a good community collaboration for the kids," said Belisle. "Scott Almeida and Matt Cabral have really stepped up to help organize and coordinate with Tara Thibadeau and all our BWRSD maintenance guys. They really don’t get enough credit. Those guys really care about the kids and the community."

Belisle made specific mention of district facilities employees Danny Terra, Jimmy Santos, Joe Fernandez and Mike Laravee, who work in the department directed by Tony Almeida.

Said Belisle, "They paint our fields every week and fix everything for the district. They were really paramount in getting the equipment out of sheds and to the right places, making sure the fields were lined and helping with the new uprights and putting the new nets together. It’s all the little stuff that no one sees that makes it possible for kids to play."

Let there be lights!
Thibaudeau, representing Parks & Rec, is also leading an effort, in association with the East Bay Warriors youth football organizations and supporters of district sports, to install new lights at Vets Park.

The groups recently got together, producing a card announcing their aim to raise upwards of $150,000 "to bring new life to Veterans Field."

The intention is to "create safe, well-lit spaces for practices and games" and to "expand opportunities for evening events."

The existing lights at the field are insufficient for Mt. Hope football or most any other sporting event to take place after dusk.

The groups are eyeing sponsorships are four levels:

• Bronze, $250, including logos placed on town and East Bay Warriors websites and a "tee sign," akin to those use as golf outings, displayed at the field;
• Silver, $500, the same offerings as Bronze along with a logo to be included on t-shirts printed for the effort;
• Gold, $1,000, the same website and t-shirt offerings as mentioned prior as well as 3-foot-by-3-foot vinyl banner to be displayed on the fence surrounding the field;
• and Platinum, $5,000, the same website and t-shirt offerings as mentioned prior along with a 4-foot-by4-foot metal sign to be displayed at the field.

Donations can be made payable to the Town of Warren and submitted to the Parks & Rec Department or can be done online at a GoFundMe page set up for the effort, https://www.gofundme.com/f/light-up-the-town.

For more information about the lighting drive call Thibaudeau at 401-824-4623 or email warrenrecreation@gmail.com.

More MHHS notes
A plan for the MHHS football team to practice at Jamiel Park in town later in the season off campus as construction on the new building advances has been changed. Belisle said instead, the Huskies will prep at Colt State Park in Bristol, a more convenient option since it's much closer to school.

Three of the other MHHS teams this fall, boys' and girls' soccer and girls' tennis, will play and practice mostly at nearby Roger Williams University as previously set forth. If any conflicts with RWU arise for soccer, they'll prep at the field on the Guiteras School grounds in Bristol.

Cross country and girls' volleyball are unaffected by the construction. The harriers, as always, will run practices and meets at Colt, while indoor sports, like girls' volleyball, are staying on campus as Fitzgerald Gym will remain open throughout the project.

With all that in mind, home regular season action begins for the Huskies this week. Boys' soccer hosts Cumberland at RWU Wednesday, Sept. 3, 4:30 p.m. Girls' volleyball is home for Prout at Fitzgerald Thursday, Sept. 4, at 6 p.m. The week concludes with a soccer doubleheader Friday, Sept. 5, at RWU, the boys playing Scituate at 5:30 p.m. followed by the girls against North Kingstown at 7:30.

Also of note, the MHHS football team plays its annual Injury Fund scrimmage Thursday, Sept. 4, in Providence against host Moses Brown. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m.