At the official dedication of Colorado Academy’s Newton Turf Field on September 28, 2024, Head of School Dr. Mike Davis summoned a sports metaphor to describe the lengthy process that was required to bring the project to its completion.
“Many of us remember the kind of high school games where you go back and forth with a determined opponent, and the competition becomes about not being deterred, staying positive despite seemingly long odds. Completing Newton Field mirrored that type of tough game: Our opponents were the weather, the geology of this parcel of land, inflation, supply chain issues, and challenges throughout the Denver construction industry.”
Yet the many supporters of the project as well as CA’s Operations team, led by Director of Operations Mark Osvirk and Grounds Superintendent Bryan Ekdahl, ensured that CA was able to earn the very important win, Davis noted on Homecoming Weekend, during which students, families, alumni, and guests enjoyed numerous contests all across CA’s campus.
“Thank you all for believing in the significance of this project for CA,” he went on. “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all of our donors, who included parents, alumni, parents of alumni, grandparents, and current and former faculty and staff. A shoutout also goes to our Board of Trustees, especially our Buildings and Grounds and Finance Committees, which were instrumental in providing guidance through so many facets of this build.”
Davis also thanked Jon Hill and the entire CA Athletic Department, many of whom were standing on the turf alongside the members of the Varsity Field Hockey team, which defeated longtime rival Cherry Creek High School in a 4-0 shutout in the first official game to be played on Newton earlier in the week. The additional playing field is a testament to CA’s commitment to athletics as a core ingredient of an excellent education, and it brings to a total of six the number of playing fields available to CA athletes.
The beautifully elevated, lighted surface sits on acreage that CA purchased in 2005, formerly the farmstead of the Newton family, who lived directly across Pierce Street from the campus. Frances Newton had been a member of the Board of Trustees and one of the school’s most important benefactors in the 1940s and 1950s, and she was a driving force alongside revered former Headmaster Chuck Froelicher in setting CA upon the path that has made it so successful today. One of Newton’s grandchildren, Jeff Welborn, is a CA alumnus and an alumni parent and grandparent, and his story connects the history of the Newton property all the way to the origins of CA’s current campus, which was originally part of the Welborn family farm.
That CA students will be playing on land with such history is only fitting, Davis concluded. “From here on out, I know it’s going to be about good vibes and great competition; and I know we’re going to win a lot of games here, too.”