Nike has given the Tri-Town Track & Field Project another $350,000 to help build a sytnethic turf field and track at Freeport High School, a member of the group said last Friday.

John Paterson, who founded the Tri-Town Track & Field Project with Fred Palmer, said that Nike informed them of the gift two weeks ago. The manufacturer of athletic footwear already has pledged $1 million, with the understanding that the track be named for Joan Benoit Samuelson of Freeport, who became the first Olympic women’s marathon champion in 1984.

Paterson said that Nike agreed to contribute the extra $350,000 because earlier this year, Tri-Town Track & Field opted to use Nike Grind to build the infill to the field and the surrounding track. The group had planned to use a crumb rubber infill, made from ground-up tires. But when members of the Regional School Unit 5 community expressed environmental concerns regarding crumb rubber, the committee decided to use Nike Grind. Made from ground-up footwear, Nike Grind is considered safer, the committee reported.

“We talked to (Nike) about that and they agreed to make up the difference,” Paterson said. “Because Nike Grind is so expensive, they agreed to make it up.”

Paterson said that the latest Nike donation gives Tri-Town Track & Field $2.3 million of the estimated $4.1 million it will need to build the athletic complex, complete with seating and walkways. The RSU 5 Board of Directors is working with the Tri-Town Track & Field Project on the wording and cost estimates of a January bond referendum that must be approved by residents of Durham, Freeport and Pownal for the track and field to become a reality. Voters would also be asked to approve using $600,000 originally earmarked from the high school construction bond to repair the grass playing field at Freeport High, for the synthetic track and field.

“We think our ability to raise more money from the community is exhausted,” Paterson said.

THe bond package could total an estimated $1.2 million.

“The school board will decide on that soon,” Paterson said. “We are optimistic that the board will go along with that.”

The school board will hear the update from the Tri-Town Track & Field Project at the board’s next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at Freeport High School.

RSU 5 Superintendent Becky Foley praised the Tri-Town Track & Field Project for its efforts that she said would provide student-athletes with a high-quality facility.

“I think it is a great example of the dedication of our community and volunteers in supporting our students in receiving the best education possible,” Foley said in an email to the Tri-Town Weekly.

A drawing of a proposed new synthetic surface track and field at Freeport High School.