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Gardiner athletic director Nate Stubbert, left, superintendent Pat Hopkins and school board chair Becky Fles clap as an excavator breaks ground on Hoch Field at Gardiner Area High School on Thursday. Construction on the field turf project had already started with the removal of football goalposts. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo

GARDINER — A project nearly two years in the making made a big step forward Thursday, as Gardiner Area High School broke ground on the new artificial turf playing surface at Hoch Field.

“There’s some relief, I think there’s a ton of excitement,” athletic director Nate Stubbert said. “We’ve done a lot of fundraising to get to this point. That’s fundraising we don’t have to do any more, and that’s a lot of work. I’m more excited for the kids to have a place to play that they can call their own.”

Excavators and construction vehicles are on Hoch Field at Gardiner Area High School for a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday morning. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo

The field will either be ready in the spring, if there isn’t much snow during the winter, or the fall. The project, which according to superintendent Pat Hopkins, cost over $1,000,000, will include a recognition wall and renovated concession areas.

MSAD 11 school board chair Becky Fles, center, speaks during a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony Thursday January 14, 2021 on Hoch Field at Gardiner Area High School. Construction on the field turf project had already started with the removal of football goalposts. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal Buy this Photo

Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire...