LINCOLN PARK — The field at the shuttered Near North Career Metropolitan High School will see new life in the coming weeks.
Lincoln Park High School, 2001 N. Orchard St., will use the field, which is in Ald. Walter Burnett Jr.'s 27th Ward just south of North Avenue on Larrabee Street, for after-school games and practice, Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) announced Wednesday morning.
Despite having a robust sports program, which includes 25 teams, Lincoln Park High had no home field prior to this arrangement. Smith said students were forced to travel for every game and "scrounge" for practice space.
Smith said the field is in a convenient location — it's within walking distance of the school and within the school's attendance boundaries. That means it'll be easier for families to attend games.
The field will host soccer games and practices in the spring, Smith said. Last fall, the boys soccer team were division champions with a 13-4 record. Lincoln Park High's football team also saw success, with a 7-3 record.
Before the field gets any use, Smith said it needs to be rehabbed, which will be a community effort.
Those who want to help should email the parents and neighbors who make up the #1school1community group at 1school1communitylphs@gmail.com.
In 2013, a group of Old Town and Near North neighbors rallied the community in the hopes of turning the shuttered high school into a park, but the plans did not come to fruition.
The former school, 1450 N. Larrabee St., was closed 12 years ago and covers about 11 acres of property near the former Cabrini-Green public housing complex.
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