Pimlico Elementary Middle opens new turf field and track

Pimlico Elementary/Middle School marked the opening of its new turf field and four-lane track on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting that doubled as a statement about what the school now has and what its students had been missing. For the first time, children at the Cylburn-area campus can practice and compete on their own grounds instead of traveling to other campuses for track meets, a change that turns athletics from an off-site hassle into part of the school day.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joined students on the new track and raced them during the celebration, while runners, cheerleaders and the Ravens mascot Poe filled out the scene. The public moment fit a project that school leaders framed as more than a photo opportunity. Principal Nneka Warren said the investment was about equity, and that Park Heights students deserve a “true athletic experience” with safe, high-quality facilities. She also told students, “You matter, your talent matters and your future matters.”

Scott said athletics helped shape him while growing up in Park Heights, where he ran, played football and basketball, and later ran track. That connection gave the opening a local resonance beyond the school fence line. In a neighborhood where families have long watched for signs of sustained investment, the new field and track became a visible marker that the school campus is getting the kind of infrastructure usually reserved for better-resourced communities.

The athletic upgrade is part of a larger school investment. Baltimore’s 21st Century School Buildings Program has described Pimlico Elementary/Middle as a $45 million project, and Baltimore City Public Schools renewed the school operator’s contract on Jan. 14, 2026, through June 2031. Baltimore Curriculum Project materials say the new athletic space includes the four-lane track, and a September 2025 newsletter said the turf field would support football, lacrosse, soccer and track.

The school’s broader campus profile also helps explain why the new field matters. Baltimore Curriculum Project says the Pimlico/Sinai Middle Grades Health Sciences Program, launched in 2020-21 with LifeBridge Health and Sinai Hospital, is built to broaden opportunity for selected middle school students. In that context, the field and track are not just recreational amenities. They are part of a campus that now offers a safer, more complete setting for learning, athletics and neighborhood pride.