For the love of Memorial Field

BURROUGHS HIGH — Jay Gudzin remembers when Burroughs High’s Memorial Field was a showplace for athletics.

As a football player for the Indians, Gudzin was proud to play in a facility that not only had a rich history, but was an impressive venue.

“When I left Burroughs in 1973, Memorial Field was still in great shape,” Gudzin said. “It had nice paint and nothing was falling apart. It was still a very nice stadium.

“But nothing has been done to the place since the 1950s. And now it’s in bad shape.”

Michael Hastings has also seen the facility’s decay over the years. A longtime resident and former Burbank mayor, Hastings also knows the value Memorial Field has in the community.

“Many people in the community have played on that field, run on that track or sat in those stands,” he said. “Memorial Field is very important to our community.”

From his time as an athlete at the school, to being a teacher, to becoming the head football coach to his current position as vice principal of activities and athletics, Gudzin has seen many changes at Burroughs the past nearly 40 years.

Unfortunately, little has changed with Memorial Field during that span.

That, however, is about to change. Gudzin and Hastings are doing their part to help a cause important to both of them — as well as many in the community.

Plans are moving forward to renovate the field, along with facilities at Burbank High. Renovations will include a new stadium, complete with a field turf playing surface, new storage facilities and an all-weather running track.

The Burbank Unified School District and the city of Burbank have come together to provide almost $14.2 million for improvements, not only to Burroughs, but to Burbank, which will also have field turf and an all-weather track installed.

Combined funding of an estimated $2.5 million from the district and $9.65 million from the city falls short of the covering the cost of the projects.

That’s where Hastings and Gudzin — along with concerned individuals from the community, like Burroughs co-Athletic Director Marty Garrison — come in. Hastings is chairman for the campaign “Celebrate Gratitude,” which, through the Burbank Priority in Education organization, is trying to raise funds to make up for a possible funding shortfall.

“Our main goal is to raise $1 million, or more, or whatever is needed to bring this project to its fullest,” Gudzin said. “We want to invite anyone who would like to donate money, even if its $25. We want them to know whatever they choose to donate, they will be making a difference.”

Hastings said he had a definite vision for what “Celebrate Gratitude” would be all about.

“People have asked me why we just didn’t start out by trying to get large donations from the big corporate players in the city,” he said. “But we want this project to be more than that. This is about community, and getting the Burbank community involved.”

Although individuals who would like to help can donate as much as they wish to the cause, there are some special incentives to those who might be thinking about a more sizable contribution.

Individuals — or groups — that donate more than $500 will be recognized with their name on a memorial wall.

There is also the opportunity for benefactors to have various parts of the facility bear their name for large donations.

“We haven’t gotten all the details worked out yet, but individuals will have their name engraved on a donor wall and they will have it chiseled there permanently,” Gudzin said. “It’s supposed to be some type of marble with the lazar water jet engraving. For $500 you’ll get a certain size, and obviously, you’ll get a larger size for a larger donation.

“There is also the opportunity for organizations to have things like the scoreboard, or a lane of the track, named after them.”

Much of the details of the donor wall and any sponsorship will be determined by the Burbank School Board, Gudzin said.

Although there are a lot of changes planned for Memorial Field, one thing about the facility will stay the same: the name.

Memorial Field was dedicated on May 29, 1946, and the name serves to commemorate the 21 students and two teachers from Burroughs — which was a middle school before becoming a high school in the 1940s — who were killed in action during World War II.

“It will always be Memorial Field,” Gudzin said.

Along with Burroughs, Burbank and Bellarmine-Jefferson also play their home games at Memorial Field.

With fundraising efforts kicking into high gear, Gudzin said many organizations and individuals are coming together to raise the more than $1 million.

“Many people who are involved or interested in sports in the community know about our effort,” he said. “But there are a lot of people who have no idea about what we’re doing.

“We want to try and get those people involved, and hopefully get the word out about what we’re trying to do.”

Along with putting up a banner on a busy Burbank street, Gudzin said there are plans in the works to send information about the fundraising effort to local homeowners with their monthly utility bill, and even have the information broadcast on Burbank’s cable-access channel.

“We want to hopefully have the fundraising complete by May, close to the end of the school year,” Hastings said.

When that effort is complete, all that will be left will be the construction of the new Memorial Field project. As of now, Gudzin said there is no concrete timetable for when the construction will begin. HOW TO HELP Those who want to help “Celebrate Gratitude” and donate to the fund to help raise the extra $1 million needed to rebuild facilities at Burbank and Burroughs highs have a few options: • Make checks payable to Burbank Priority in Education/Fields and mail c/o Burbank Chamber of Commerce, 200 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank CA, 91502. • Call (800) 622-3328. • Visit the BPIE website at biepie.org. All donations are tax deductible.