Olney High’s dilapidated athletic fields lack bleachers and bathrooms. Here’s how a community galvanized for change.

Cindi Lizardo loves playing lacrosse for Olney High School. She does not love the conditions at her home field.

“We’re always getting hurt because the field is not leveled, and there are ditches,” said Lizardo, who will soon begin 10th grade. “But what bothers me the most is that we don’t have bathrooms, so we have no place to change.”

But hope is on the horizon. A remarkable thing happened after the Olney High community rallied to notify Philadelphia School District and school board officials about the deplorable state of their athletic facilities — a fieldhouse that’s been condemned, no track or bleachers, no water or toilets, fields that are rutted with holes and places where grass won’t grow, fencing that’s rusted and broken, no security cameras.

» READ MORE: With no running water or room to change, Olney High students lament deteriorating athletic facilities

The officials listened, and acted, pledging $7.5 million in repairs and upgrades to the fields. The school board this spring signed off on an Olney capital program project.

That sum won’t pay for everything staff, students, and community members say they need, but it does check off many items: bleachers, lighting, new fencing, security cameras, a new scoreboard, and a new fieldhouse with bathrooms, water access, and a place for teams to change.

“It’s a relief,” said Emma Blanco, another rising Olney 10th grader and lacrosse player. “This is something we deserve.”

The Olney community initially asked for $19 million, a sum that would allow for new fields, a track, and more. Michael Roth, Olney’s principal, isn’t giving up on getting the whole project funded, but he’s thrilled with what the school did get.

Already, the district assigned a field manager to the school; the grass is now maintained regularly, making a real difference, Roth said.

“I want to give the school district credit — the capital improvement team, they came out and listened, they drew up a plan for us. Should we have to ask the school board for this stuff? No, but you know what? We did, and they listened. We talk about the things that don’t work all the time. It’s nice to see something work.”

Olney has been back in the Philadelphia School District fold since 2022 — it had spent more than a decade as a charter run by ASPIRA, and the transition wasn’t always smooth. But rallying around a common goal has been a bright spot for the staff and students, Roth said.

The athletic complex, adjacent to the school at Front and Duncannon, is a huge green space in a densely populated area — a place where some families bring their kids to learn how to ride bikes or kick a soccer ball around. But it doesn’t match fields in some other parts of the city, or certainly those in suburban areas.

“This group of students, this group of staff, we’re getting it done,” said Roth. “It’s something the community can be proud of.”

The project was driven by the community, but also championed by City Councilmember Anthony Phillips.

Legislative support is great, Phillips said, but action around the Olney fields happened because students, staff, and parents galvanized.

“I needed the community’s backing,” Phillips said. “That energized the district around this issue. We know what happens in surrounding counties — in Bucks and Montgomery — when the community gets involved and highly engaged, things happen. In Philadelphia, the community isn’t always as engaged, but that’s what happened here.”

But neither Roth nor Phillips is finished pushing. The council member said he has had conversations with district officials about an extra $1.5 million for a stormwater management project.

“If we get the stormwater management, that will set the groundwork for other funds to come in so we can do the rest of the fields,” said Phillips.

Private donations and state funds could help build new football, baseball, and softball fields or a new track.

“We want state-of-the-art surface fields,” said Phillips. Paving around the stadium is also needed.

Fancy new fields would be nice, the students said, but for now, they’re celebrating the coming changes that are guaranteed.

Sidi Traore, another Olney 10th-grade lacrosse player, is excited that family members who come to see him play will eventually have someplace to sit and a bathroom to use.

And maybe he’ll be able to worry less about sports injuries.

“I’ve fallen, I’ve hurt my ankle on the ditches,” said Traore. “I’ve scraped my knee; the grass doesn’t grow a lot. There’s been numerous teams that came here and got hurt.”

Blanco is looking forward to not having to use teammates to physically shield her when she must change outside, or needing to change outside in the rain.

(Eventually, she grew immune to visiting teams “talking down” to Olney’s players, Blanco said, judging them by the poor conditions of their fields, but it still bothers some of her teammates.)

Ysis Rivera, a recent Olney graduate who excelled as a softball player, was part of a group that testified before the school board. She’s thrilled that her plea brought action, even if she won’t reap the rewards personally.

“I love that other athletes can take their talents to the next level here,” said Rivera.

She played her heart out in her years as an Olney athlete, but “it was very degrading for us” to have such poor fields. (Softball players entered their field through a large hole in a rusty fence, for instance.)

Jorge Gonzalez, an Olney teacher and the school’s athletic director, sees long-term benefits to the field improvements, including the possibility of attracting more students to Olney. Some neighborhood kids focused on athletics now bypass the school because of its poor fields, Gonzalez said.

“It’s great,” Gonzalez said. “This is not just for the students, it’s for the community.”