The cheering from the grandstand, the huffing and puffing of young athletes sprinting down the track, the fresh-looking infield green with its sharp white football yard markings — all gave indication that the Hart Park stadium was back, at least in a carefully limited way.
The football field and track had been underwater last August when the nearby Menomonee River overflowed its banks. On May 4, after months of study and repairs to the damaged facilities, the Wauwatosa East High School track teams were able to host their annual middle school meet, inviting runners from Longfellow Middle School to test their speed with a professional timing system.
Despite such progress on the repairs, however, the city-owned Hart Park stadium has not yet officially reopened. The Tosa East track teams have been granted permission this spring to practice on the stadium's track while crews finish repairs to the flood-damaged infield, but that infield is still off-limits to the public. All the school's track meets so far have been on the road.
"As of now we have not been granted unrestricted access. There are some procedural things as well as final touches that need to take place with the turf field," Tosa East Athletic Director Andrew Thompson told Tosa Forward News this week.