Canandaigua, N.Y. — For Matt Vahue, football at Evans Field is a tradition worth saving.
“The great thing about Canandaigua and Canandaigua’s football team is you’re playing for more than yourself,” Vahue said. “You play for the school, you play for the community, you play for everybody that played before you.” After hearing the news of the potential relocation of the football program, Vahue, class of 2001, along with fellow football veteran Jon Davern, class of 2000, created a Facebook page called “Evans Field — Help Save the ‘Home of the Braves’” to rally community support. Both were on the football team in 1999 that won the state championship, and both agree that something must be done to keep the football program where its history was made. As of Monday, 882 Facebook users have “liked” the page since its creation on July 25. Many of the fans of the page are Canandaigua Academy graduates sharing their memories and opinions about the field, and giving reasons why it should still be in use. Some talk about their memories of playing on the field themselves, or of attending games. Others talk about what Evans Field means to the community. A growing number, however, talk about what can be done to keep the field open. The Canandaigua school district is currently discussing a large-scale renovation of its outdoor athletic facilities. A central part of that discussion revolves around what to do with Evans Field, which requires a number of repairs and updates. Because the field isn’t adjacent to any school property, state aid cannot be used to fund any renovations. Any updates would need to be funded by taxpayer dollars, or a type of community-funded alternative. The other option is to create a new structure at Canandaigua Academy for the programs that currently play at Evans. On Aug. 3, the community-based committee in charge of discussing the renovations is meeting at the district operations center for further discussion. Vahue listed the committee members’ names on the Facebook page, and urges supporters to contact anyone whose name they might recognize to make them aware of how some of the community feels. Vahue said he was surprised and pleased that the page has taken off the way it has in such a short time. “It really should be evidence enough that the community truly needs to take a hard look to do whatever it takes to save Evans Field,” he said. It’s not only current residents that would be affected by a change. It’s anyone who has walked on the field or gone to the Academy, Vahue said. Memories of Evans Field, both wins and losses, will last a lifetime, Vahue said. One idea that has popped up in the virtual discussion is the idea of a community-based, grassroots fundraising effort. Locals and former graduates could raise money and supplies, as well donate their labor if they work in any industries that could help rehab the field. Though it’s not the most premier facility, Evans Field is the face of Canandaigua football, Davern said. “There’s no price you can attach to the tradition and the memories that people have of the field, and I think that extends all the way back into the early ‘50s when it was first established.” Lifelong Canandaigua resident Jody Joslyn, class of 1987, has two sons who play sports, one of whom will be on the junior varsity team this fall. It was always a dream, she said, to have her children play at Evans. “I used to walk on that field (as a) junior and senior in high school and think, ‘If I ever have kids, this’ll be so cool to be here,’” she said. Attending games at Evans Field, even when her children aren’t playing, is a great way to spend time with her family, Joslyn said. It’s a tradition to go to homecoming, and it’s upsetting to think it wouldn’t be there anymore, she said. The school district isn’t looking to take something valuable away from the community — rather, they feel there are updates that need to be made and limited ways to go about it. Josyln said she feels sorry for the decision-makers. “I feel bad for them, because they’re going to be making a decision that no one wants to make,” she said. “No one wants to take Evans Field away from any of these boys, or girls that cheer, or anyone who goes there every year like we do.” Copyright 2010 MPNnow. Some rights reserved
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