The westernmost grass field at the Stephen Hand’s Path Recreational Facility will be converted to a multiuse artificial turf field in January, with work to be completed possibly by Memorial Day, depending on weather. Councilman David Lys and Matt Jedlicka, an engineer at L.K. McLean Associates, gave a presentation on the project to the town board at a meeting on Tuesday.
The field will be A.D.A.-accessible and lined to accommodate many sports; chiefly football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and Little League baseball. At either end of the field a 20-foot-high chain-link fence will be installed to prevent stray balls from escaping.
In the past, there have been rigorous debates here when artificial turf fields have been proposed. In Sag Harbor, controversy over a proposal to install one behind the high school was fierce, and again when one was planned at Marsden Street. There was no talk of the field’s environmental impact when the town board met Tuesday.
Councilman Lys said the artificial baseball and softball diamonds that were installed two years ago were met with “great fanfare and use by the community” and noted heavy use of the nearby soccer fields, which, despite irrigation, are in poor shape. The goal, he said, is to make all the fields in East Hampton “harmonious in their striping,” so that teams can move from one to another without confusion. Depending on cost, it is also possible that the new field could have lights, bleachers, and a scoreboard. “This project is shovel-ready,” Mr. Lys said. “We want to give the residents what they need to enjoy recreation in the town.”
John Rooney, the town’s superintendent of recreation, was supportive of the proposal. During construction, he said, schedules will be tweaked to allow soccer matches to continue on the single field. The town’s soccer program, which runs every fall and spring, now has 10 teams with two divisions, serving children from grades one through six.
“It should be smooth,” Mr. Rooney said. “Everybody is going to be so excited about getting this done.”
The board was unanimous in its approval and praise of the project.
“Football is life,” said Councilman Tom Flight. “It’s always a dream to play on a surface like this. This is such a great way to improve the soccer skills of the youth in this town.” He suggested adding mobile goals so that the field could be split in two, allowing simultaneous scrimmages games.
Councilman Lys noted that while the field will have direct benefits to players, there are indirect benefits as well. If lights are installed, he said, it will extend playtime into the evening, which would “allow more kids to be off the devices and playing a sport.” More bleachers would mean more families would turn out for games, he added.
“You had me at ‘get people off their screens,’ ” said Councilwoman Cate Rogers, who remarked that fields get entire families out into the fresh air. “The benefit is even broader than what we’re talking about here.”
