Louis Sacarro says this soccer season will be special one for him and his fellow students.
That is because this is the first year the Staten Island Technical High School sophomore can practice on a new home field.
"There's always people who come here who can come and support you, and it's great to get used to a certain field that you can have advantage on against other teams," said Sacarro.
A $7 million renovation of the schools' athletic fields is nearing its completion, two years after work began.
The complex is shared between Tech and McKee High School students.
The field’s new turf field can be used to accommodate soccer, football and baseball games.
The field is also now surrounded by a state-of-the-art track and there’s a new scoreboard for games.
"Before this, it was just a giant mass of soil um, where grass didn't really grow anymore, and safety was a big concern for of ours our students, this is really a long time coming," said Principal Mark Erlenwein.
Although faculty members say the old field had been deteriorating for years, the 2011 car crash that killed former McKee student athlete Eric Colligan helped move the project forward.
"He played baseball and he played football. The stepdad Nick Collella wanted to stay involved with the program and raise awareness for the fields and made an appointment with Councilman Oddo at the time, who is now the Borough President," said Mike Grippo, a physical education teacher.
Oddo and former borough president James Molinaro allocated money for the project, which is being funded by the Department of Education.
Although most of it is complete, this area will transform into a new softball field, while final touches are being made on the baseball field and track.
"Every time we'd go to another school we'd be like wow, I wish our school was like this and now we finally have it," said senior student Kelly Amberger.
The full complex is expected to be complete by spring of next year.