Off-limits for two months for synthetic turf replacement, the stadium field at Count Basie Park in Red Bank reopened this week.
Five weeks late because of pandemic-related turf manufacturing issues, the new field incorporates rubber pellets recycled from the old field, as well as new “Koolmax” technology that reduces ground temperatures by several degrees, recreation Director Del Dal Pra told the borough council earlier this month.
The reopening means the Red Bank Catholic Caseys can play their first scheduled varsity football game of the new season on their home field, as scheduled, on Friday at 7 p.m.
It also means users of the surrounding track, which was closed during construction, can resume their walking and running routines.
And coming soon, said Dal Pra: new, solar-powered lighting for the asphalt track around the non-stadium ballfields. (Drone photo at top by Eric Manny Harris; others by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
