The Recreation Department hopes to start the final phase of work on the field in the fall and have a 90-foot diamond ready for baseball next spring.
11.19.2006 | NORTHAMPTON - One of the last major renovations at Veterans Field included the construction of a skateboard park.NORTHAMPTON – Baseball will not be coming to Veterans Fields this year, but the Recreation Department is hoping they can yell “Play ball!” there in 2012.
The once-soggy field, which was heavily used by various leagues, has lain fallow sport-wise for several years, awaiting a face-lift that has included a new surface and better drainage. In 2004, the City Council appropriated $455,280 towards the project, but it dragged on past its anticipated completion thanks to a series of unexpected delays.
In the meantime, a group of local skateboarders and their supporters managed to raise money for a $344,000 a state-of-the-art skate park at the edge of the field. It opened in 2007 and has been a draw ever since, but the playing fields were never built.
Recreation Department Director Ann Marie Moggio expects that to change soon, however. Moggio said her request for $25,000 to buy a backstop and build a dugout area is in Mayor Mary Clare Higgins’ capital plan for 2012. If the item is approved by the City Council, the ball field will have the green light at last.
“We’re very excited,” Moggio said.
Once the appropriation is secure, the Recreation Department will go out to bid on the project. It hopes to start the final phase of work on the field in the fall and have the 90-foot diamond ready for baseball next spring. With the new drainage system in place, the field promises to be a drier sports venue. Moggio said plans call for home plate to be moved back closer to the southeast edge of the field, decreasing the probability of home runs into the skateboard park in right.
“When you stand back in the corner where home plate will be, you’ll say, ‘This is definitely enough,’” Moggio said.
Moggio expects the Junior League to use the field, along with the Northampton High School and Smith Vocational High School baseball teams. Other leagues might use the facility as well, she said.