Swarthmore College hopes to redevelop Cunningham Fields as its athletic infrastructure ages
The college is in the middle of a lengthy land development process with Swarthmore Borough as it embarks on a campaign to renew its fields and athletic facilities.
As Swarthmore College embarks on an ambitious campaign to update its campus infrastructure, plans for a redeveloped athletic complex are taking shape. Under the college’s proposal, Cunningham Fields, a set of playing fields located off College Avenue and North Chester Road, would be redesigned to include updated grass and turf fields, new tennis courts, spectator seating, and a pavilion with restrooms and team meeting areas.
As the lengthy development process between the borough and the college continues to play out, here’s what you need to know about the proposed redesign.
What is Cunningham Fields?
Cunningham Fields is a set of athletic fields located on the Swarthmore College campus, off College Avenue and North Chester Road. The complex currently includes four grass fields, six tennis courts, locker rooms, and restrooms. The fields are used for lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, rugby, and Ultimate Frisbee practice. They are open to the public when they are not in use by the college.
What does the proposed renovation look like?
The Cunningham Fields redesign proposes the construction of three new sports fields; a pavilion with restrooms, team meeting areas, a training room, and storage; additional spectator viewing areas; and the addition of six tennis courts and relocation of existing tennis courts.
One all-purpose turf field would be installed for soccer, lacrosse, rugby, Ultimate Frisbee, kickball, and flag football. The all-purpose field would not have lighting, a sound system, or permanent seating.
A second proposed turf field would be used primarily for field hockey. That field would include spectator seating for up to 160 people, a press box, a scoreboard, a sound system, and lighting, per NCAA regulations. The field may be lit from 4 to 8 p.m., depending on the season, with the option to extend to 10 p.m. one day a week for fall night games. The use of the sound system would be limited to intercollegiate games, which the college says typically occur twice a week during the season.
A new grass field would be put in primarily for soccer, rugby, and other recreational activities. The field would not have lighting or a sound system, and would be designed as a “quiet and calm environment,” the college says.
The proposal also includes renovating existing tennis courts and adding six courts, which the college says would allow the men’s and women’s teams to play side by side.
Why does the college want to renovate Cunningham Fields?
The Cunningham Fields renovation is part of a larger plan for Swarthmore’s athletic facilities, which the college says are in need of major updates.
Cunningham Fields currently presents “a unique set of challenges,” according to the college. The natural grass fields require significant maintenance. Its tennis courts have poor drainage and no spectator seats and are split between two locations, creating scheduling conflicts during meets. In addition to Cunningham Fields, the college says, Swarthmore’s Lamb-Miller Field House is “at the end of its usable life” and no longer meets NCAA requirements.
A spokesperson for the college said in a statement that the proposed development is “an exciting project designed to meet the needs of our students while also serving as a resource for the broader Swarthmore College and Borough community.”
The proposed renovation follows the 2024 adoption of “Swarthmore Forward,” a strategic plan that articulates the college’s vision for nurturing “all aspects” of students’ well-being, including health and wellness.
How has the Cunningham Fields proposal changed over time?
After receiving community feedback, the college says it has made significant changes to its initial plans and is “committed to preserving a true parklike character” through modern lighting and sound technology, quiet hours, deliberate scheduling, and environmentally responsible materials, among other measures.
While the college initially planned to put lighting on all of the new fields, it now plans to light only the tennis courts and field hockey field. Plans for a new fitness court have been eliminated. Spectator seating and new netting have been pared back.
To address the complaint of buses waiting along College Avenue, the South Cunningham Lot would be used as the main entry point, and drop-off and pickup would take place at a dedicated area near the parking lot entrance off South Chester Road.
Has the borough approved the renovations?
Not yet. Swarthmore College is in the middle of a development process with the borough that could take months, or longer.
When property owners want to build something that does not comply with the existing zoning code (like the Cunningham Fields proposal), they can go through one of two avenues. Developers can either request that a municipality rezone its specific parcel of land, or propose a text amendment, which changes the municipality’s zoning code at-large.
The college has gone the latter route, requesting an amendment to the borough’s zoning code. As proposed by the college, the amendment would add various permitted uses to the current IN-B Institutional District code, including changes that would affect the allowance of tennis courts, walking paths, safety netting, and scoreboards.
Before a text amendment can be passed, it has to go through the borough’s planning and zoning committee, borough council, and planning commission. At a meeting on Dec. 1, the Swarthmore Borough Council discussed traffic, environmental impacts, and noise issues, raising questions like how late the college could use its field lights and where and when spectators could park for games. The council plans to send a list of questions and concerns to the planning commission by the end of the month. The commission will then study those issues before returning with a recommendation.
If the zoning amendment is approved, the college’s development proposal would then have to go through an approval process with the county and borough, introducing another set of public meetings.
How do residents feel?
At a Nov. 20 meeting of Swarthmore’s planning and zoning commission, fears about changing neighborhood character and environmental impacts dominated public comment, according to the Swarthmorean, a community newspaper. Some residents expressed concerns about disruptive late-night athletic games, while others questioned the college’s decision to pursue a text amendment rather than a zone change.
In its statement, the college said it looks forward to “continued engagement with our neighbors and the Borough as the process moves forward and to creating a space that benefits both the College and Swarthmore residents.”
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