Location | 110 Alewife Brook Parkway, Somerville, Massachusetts |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°24′43.45″N71°07′54.70″W / 42.4120694°N 71.1318611°W |
Public transit | MBTA, Davis Station, 87, 88, 94 |
Owner | Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation |
Operator | Somerville Department of Public Works |
Surface | synthetic turf |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1952 (original stadium) 2006 (second stadium) |
Opened | 1955 (original stadium) 2006 (second stadium) |
Construction cost | US$ 7.7 million (second stadium) |
Architect | Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype Inc. (second stadium) |
Tenants | |
Boston Breakers (2012–2013) Boston Militia (2008–2014) Boston Renegades (2015-) Somerville Rampage (2015-) local high schools | |
Website | |
www |
George Dilboy Memorial Stadium is a multi-purpose public sports stadium in the city of Somerville, Massachusetts. It is the home of the Somerville Rampage semi-pro men's football team, the Boston Renegades semi-pro women's football team, as well as teams from Somerville High School, Saint Clement High School, and Matignon High School.
The stadium is named for George Dilboy, who lived in Somerville and was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I. The original stadium opened in 1955. It was demolished and rebuilt in 2006. When it opened, the current stadium seated 2,000. Since then, it has been expanded at various times to accommodate the teams playing there. Located just off of Massachusetts Route 2, it is also under two miles from Davis Station and Alewife Station, making it reachable by a variety of forms of transit. [1]
It is located close to Alewife Brook Reservation (a Massachusetts state park), as well as a Somerville city park with a swimming pool, two baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, and a playground. [2]
The first Dilboy Stadium was opened in 1955. The inaugural game was a football match between Somerville High School and Medford High School on October 8, 1955. When the stadium opened, its capacity was 5,000. [3]
Plans for the stadium began about twenty years earlier but were delayed many times, including by World War II and a 1950 federal ban on construction of recreational facilities. [3] [4] [5] Several fundraising drives failed. In 1952, John F. Kennedy, then a congressman from Massachusetts, helped allocated steel from the National Production Authority for the stadium. [6] The stadium was eventually built as a partnership between the City of Somerville and the Metropolitan District Commission, both of which contributed over $20,000 to the effort. Since the stadium was not wholly Somerville's, the high schools playing in it were charged rent and other fees. [3]
Before Dilboy Stadium was built, the Somerville High School football team had not played a home game since 1942. This decreased the football program's income, as the custom was to split gate receipts, giving 60% to the home team and 40% to the away team. This contributed to pressure to build a stadium. [7] [3]
By the early 2000s, the stadium had fallen into disrepair. State Senator Charlie Shannon lobbied the state government intensively for the $8 million necessary to demolish and replace the stadium. The funding was part of the state budget approved by Governor Mitt Romney in September 2004. [8] Shannon died before the project's completion, and there were plans to name the replacement stadium after Shannon instead of Dilboy. The renaming was scratched after Somerville's Greek community spoke out in favor of retaining the name Dilboy. [9] The replacement Dilboy Stadium opened in September 2006. [10]
Dilboy Stadium was a blighted state-owned facility before a $7.7 million renovation, funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, turned it into a gleaming venue for soccer, football, and running. The central playing surface is a 100-yard synthetic turf football and soccer field, surrounded by a standard 400-meter eight-lane running track. The stadium's lighting system has a range of illumination levels suitable for various activities, from evening football games to walking and jogging on the track. The low-maintenance feature of synthetic turf reduces down-time, which, along with the artificial lighting, maximizes programming in the stadium.
The facility is operated and staffed by the City of Somerville, which is responsible for its security, scheduling and maintenance. [11]
The stadium is designed to allow different buildings on its site to be open or closed, depending on how it is used. It is open to local residents who can run or walk on the track. It is also a home stadium for high school teams of the city.
The stadium was designed by Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype Inc. of Boston. Its size is over 17,000 square feet and it seats 2,000 in a 10,000-square-foot grandstand. The team room building is 2,100 square feet, and the concession building in 2,600 square feet, including storage and a garage. [11]
The stadium was home to the Boston Militia of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA) league from 2008 to 2014 and to the women's soccer club, the Boston Breakers, in 2012 and 2013. It is the current home of the Somerville Rampage of the New England Football League and to the Boston Renegades of the WFA.
As of 2014, the stadium was averaging 601 uses per year. [12]
The following teams have held home games at the stadium.
Team | Sport | League (during most recent year at Dilboy) | Years |
---|---|---|---|
Boston Breakers | soccer | National Women's Soccer League | 2012, 2013 |
Boston Militia | football | Women's Football Alliance | 2008–2014 |
Boston Renegades | football | Women's Football Alliance | 2015– |
Somerville Rampage | football | New England Football League | 2015- |
Somerville High School | soccer | Greater Boston League | |
Somerville High School | football | Greater Boston League | |
Saint Clement High School | soccer | Catholic Central League | |
Saint Clement High School | football | Catholic Central League | |
Matignon High School | football | Catholic Central League |
Somerville is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area of 4.12 square miles (10.7 km2), the city has a density of 19,671/sq mi (7,595/km2), making it the most densely populated municipality in New England and the 19th most densely populated incorporated municipality in the country. Somerville was established as a town in 1842, when it was separated from Charlestown. In 2006, the city was named the best-run city in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe. In 1972, 2009, and 2015, the city received the All-America City Award. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus along the Somerville and Medford border.
Nickerson Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Northeastern United States, on the campus of Boston University (BU) in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned by BU, and is the home field for some Boston University Terriers athletics programs, including soccer and lacrosse. It was also the home of the Boston University Terriers football team until the program was discontinued following the 1997 season.
Davis Square is a major intersection in the northwestern section of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, where several streets meet: Holland Street, Dover Street, Day Street, Elm Street, Highland Avenue, and College Avenue. The name is often used to refer to the West Somerville neighborhood surrounding the square as well.
Alewife station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station in the North Cambridge neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the northwest terminal of the rapid transit Red Line and a hub for several MBTA bus routes. The station is at the confluence of the Minuteman Bikeway, Alewife Linear Park, Fitchburg Cutoff Path, and Alewife Greenway off Alewife Brook Parkway adjacent to Massachusetts Route 2, with a five-story parking garage for park and ride use. The station has three bike cages. Alewife station is named after nearby Alewife Brook Parkway and Alewife Brook, themselves named after the alewife fish.
The Somerville Community Path is a paved rail trail in Somerville, Massachusetts, running 3.2 miles (5.1 km) from Massachusetts Avenue to East Cambridge via Davis Square. The first portion opened in 1985 along part of the former Fitchburg Cutoff rail line. Extensions opened in 1994 and 2015. A further 1.9-mile (3.1 km) extension to East Cambridge opened in June 2023 as part of the Green Line Extension project. It is a section of the partially completed Mass Central Rail Trail.
Boston Renegades was an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team folded after the 2009 season.
Alewife Brook Reservation is a Massachusetts state park and urban wild located in Cambridge, Arlington, and Somerville. The park is managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and was established in 1900. It is named for Alewife Brook, which was also historically known as Menotomy River, a tributary of the Mystic River.
George Dilboy, , Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company H, 103rd Infantry Regiment, 26th Division is thought to be the first Greek-American to receive the Medal of Honor during World War I. He led an attack on a machine gun position and continued to fire at the enemy despite being seriously wounded, killing two of the enemy and dispersing the remainder of the gun crew. General John J. Pershing, commander of all the American forces in France during the war, listed George Dilboy as "one of the ten great heroes" who "died in the battlefield of France with super-human heroism and valor." Dilboy is buried in Section 18 of Arlington National Cemetery.
Somerville High School is a public, four-year high school in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. The school offers a wide selection of classes and vocational programs.
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Alewife Brook Parkway is a short parkway in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It begins at Fresh Pond in Cambridge, and heads north on the east bank of Alewife Brook, crossing into West Somerville and ending at the Mystic River on the Medford town line, where it becomes Mystic Valley Parkway. The entire length of Alewife Brook Parkway is designated as part of Massachusetts Route 16 (Route 16), while the southernmost sections are also designated as part of Route 2 and U.S. Route 3 (US 3). It is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation responsible for bridge maintenance.
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Patricia Deats Jehlen is a former teacher and current Massachusetts State Senator of the Democratic Party. She represents the Second Middlesex District. That includes the cities of Cambridge, Ward 7 Precinct 1, Ward 8 Precinct 1, Ward 10, Medford and Somerville, and the town of Winchester, precincts 4 to 7, inclusive, in the County of Middlesex. She has served the Massachusetts State Senate since 2005. She also served the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003. She resides in Somerville, MA.
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