Stellos Stadium's worn down turf field won't be used for any games the remainder of the fall season for safety reasons. City and school officials say the plan is to try to replace it in time for the spring season. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – What’s next for Nashua high school and youth athletes the next month now that Stellos Stadium has been closed for the remainder of the fall due to safety concerns with its deteriorating turf field?

New game times (in some, not all cases), new locations, new everything.

“We will not be back at Stellos Stadium this fall,” Nashua Athletic Director Lisa Gingras said after the final decision was made on Wednesday. “The first thing we did (Wednesday) was any games that were scheduled during daylight, we moved them to the schools.

“We also have to be cognizant of the nationwide officials shortage and the problems everyone has with transportation. Those that were planned at 4 o’clock or daytime on Saturdays, those have just been moved. Same time, just a different location.”

Gingras chuckled as she couldn’t call Bishop Guertin to play at their place, since their place is also Stellos. But she did move Friday’s 6:30 p.m. football game to 3:30 that afternoon, at North’s field inside the track. Not ideal, but the only way to get the game played as there are no lights at North.

“We made a few calls to a few other locations, but unfortunately nobody was able to accommodate us this weekend,” she said.

Next Friday ‘s (Oct. 11) Nashua South football game slated to be at Stellos vs. Winnacunnet was moved to Winnacunnet. The final Panthers home game, Nov. 1 vs. Goffstown, will be played at Souhegan High School’s lighted, turf field that night. “That will still be their Senior Night,” Gingras said. “The one I’m still working on is the final North home game, the Merrimack game on the 25th.”

Gingras said she’s working on trying to find venues with lights so the soccer and field hockey teams at both North and South can have their Senior Night celebrations under the lights.

Bishop Guertin athletic director Ryan Brown says the school is working with Rivier University and Presentation of Mary, who have turf fields, for some of the Cards’ soccer and field hockey games to be played there.

“We’ll see what we can move there,” Brown said, noting there’s a combined 10 boys and girls soccer/field hockey games plus two football games. “Fortunately we have only another month.

“We have two football games (Oct. 12 vs. Keene and Oct. 19 vs. Dover, and we have to find a location to host those games. We’re working with people to try to do that and find a place that’s good for our kids.”

Riv’s Merrill Field and PMA’s field aren’t football fields, so they can’t help there. But Brown says they’ve been receptive to helping when they can. They’ve scheduled games and practices at Rivier before, and BG helped Riv out last year for volleyball when the Muldoon’s floor was being resurfaced. And BG has worked with PMA in the past. “They’re both more than willing to help us, and work to accommodate what they can. … I think we’ll be able to work a lot of stuff out there.”

Brown also mentioned he may approach Saint Anselm College as a possible football location; Guertin has played a home game there in the past.

“Football is a little more up in the air,” Brown said. “We have to get a little more creative there and see what’s out there. … The concern with football is there are bigger crowds.”

Guertin postponed tonight’s girls soccer game vs. Timberlane; Brown’s hoping Saturday’s scheduled field hockey home game vs. Manchester Memorial-Central can be played.

Brown said that while Stellos’ turf field was on the decline, but to the extent to force a closure wasn’t completely evident.

“We could all visually see, right, that the field was deteriorating and something needed to be done about it,” he said. “And, well, here we are.”

Brown is just hoping that the turf can be replaced before winter.

“My hope is that we’re not in this situation in the spring,” he said. “That’s got to be the goal at this point. What’s happened has happened, the goal now has got to be to make it usable for the spring.”

As for the youth football programs that use Stellos, Gingras said her game fields will get so much use now she can’t open them up for the Sunday games. “They’re going to work with the Parks (-Recreation) Department to find other locations.”

Gingras feels for the coaches and the players.

“Absolutely, especially the seniors,” she said. “Some of our seniors have played on that field for four years. If you think of our football kids, some of them have been playing on that field since they were six in the Sunday youth games and things like that. My heart goes out to them. Ultimately,their disappointment, they can get over that faster than a significant injury.

“And this is nothing like the spring of 2020 when everything was cancelled (due to COVID). We are going to play every game.”