High School athletic complex enters construction phase; groundbreaking Dec. 3

posted on 11/29/2025

The Dover High athletics complex project will enter the construction phase in the coming weeks, beginning with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 3, announced members of the Joint Building Committee for the Dover High School Athletic Complex. 

“We’re not waiting for spring,” said Michelle Clancy, the School Board’s representative on the JBC. “We’re kicking off and getting the action started now.”

The JBC met Nov. 5 to review bid proposals, finalize contracts, and authorize the expenditure of $15,941,460, the guaranteed maximum price provided by the JBC’s project construction manager, Eckman Construction, Inc.

“Bids came in better than we expected, which allows us to do a little more for a little less and still come in under budget,” said Fergus Cullen, JBC chair and city councilor.

In June, the City Council authorized up to $18 million for the project, which includes about $2 million allocated for design and contingency costs.

The final scope of work authorized by the JBC includes two synthetic turf playing fields: one at Dunaway Field and the other at the reimagined baseball field. Dunaway Field’s location will shift slightly, and the baseball field will be rotated and expanded to create a second multisport field in the outfield.

“This second field replaces the field we lost with the construction of the new high school and adds hundreds of uses per year to the facility, said Linnea Nemeth, the JBC’s City Council representative. “Dover will no longer be a field-poor community.”

The project includes replacing the rubberized track, grandstands, and lights around Dunaway Field. There will be a new concessions and bathrooms building, an athletics equipment storage barn, and a 25-space parking lot accessed from Bellamy Road, which includes accessible parking spaces and a pick-up/drop-off area, neither of which existed previously.

Five site sub-contractors participated in the bidding process conducted by Eckman Construction, with four firms submitting bids ranging from $10,047,460 to $11,140,000 for site work. Eckman Construction selected the low bidder, David W. White Sports Construction of Bow, which also built the field at Dover’s St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 2020. They have also constructed fields around the state, including Phillips Exeter Academy, Manchester Memorial High School, Trinity High School, Dartmouth College, and Southern New Hampshire University, among many other schools and municipalities, according to the JBC. 

JBC members attribute the successful bidding process to having a desirable project from a contractor’s perspective and soliciting bids at the right time. A second significant area of savings came from the JBC’s decision to opt for a more basic pre-manufactured building for the new facilities building that will replace the current dilapidated structure. This saved more than $500,000 from the original design.

One decision that has not been finalized is whether to include lighting for the baseball/multisport field. The committee is considering three options: include lights, don’t include lights, or install deep base foundations and electric conduit now, allowing towers to be added at a later date.

“Retrofitting towers at the field isn’t feasible from a construction or cost perspective,” said JBC member Ronan O’Doherty. “It’s now or never.”

Dover’s synthetic baseball field will be New Hampshire’s third, according to the JBC. The others are at Dartmouth College and Gill Stadium in Manchester. The creative configuration allows two 60-foot youth softball or baseball games to be played simultaneously when the 90-foot baseball field and multisport field are not in use.

“The Dover baseball community would rather have a synthetic field they know will always be playable than a grass field that is unplayable much of the spring,” said Craig Flynn, School Board representative on the JBC.

The JBC and school officials have scheduled a formal ground-breaking ceremony for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Fencing around the project site is expected to go up in advance. Demolition of everything above grade — grandstands, the concessions buildings, and fencing — will happen soon after. The project has received its alteration of terrain permit from the state, allowing the removal of the track and excavation to begin.

“Our goal remains having a field ready for play in the fall of 2026,” said JBC member Ernie Clark. “We can’t promise that, but getting underway before winter sets in gives us our best chance."