Brockton Subcommittee Warns Stadium Turf Could Fail Safety Test This Summer

School Committee · Meeting of March 17, 2026

Brockton's athletic subcommittee hears urgent warnings on crumbling facilities and deep staffing cuts. Athletic Director Kevin Caro told the School Committee Subcommittee on Athletics, Arts, Music, Extracurricular Activities on March 17 that Marciano Stadium's 16-year-old artificial turf field faces a make-or-break GMAX safety test in late July — a failure would immediately close it to football, soccer, and field hockey — while funding for replacement has been identified but no construction bid has been issued. Caro also disclosed that nine athletic department support positions have been eliminated, leaving two people to manage 87 teams across three seasons, and that the hockey co-op with Stoughton costs $17,000 annually with only one returning Brockton player expected next year.

The subcommittee voted 4-0 to refer a motion to the full School Committee requiring the city to follow its own ordinance on maintaining athletic fields adjacent to school properties. Former Athletic Director Tom Pileski reported that Save Our Sports has contributed more than $500,000 in equipment and supplies to Brockton athletics since its 1991 founding, including over $100,000 for a student-athlete SAT and MCAS prep program.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of March 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.