Town approves Booster ball fields

Talk about it

Prior to the regularly scheduled town board meeting Tuesday, July 5, the town of Hudson held a hearing on a proposed ball field complex on a 21-acre parcel of land along Hwy. 12. Later, the board approved the proposal.

John Herink presented the proposal on behalf of the Boosters. The group has 98 youth baseball teams.

Currently, all teams play on 24 ball fields around the area. According to Herink, because of this there is also limited usage for players 14 and up, as those teams can be kicked off the field at any given time. The proposed complex would help to alleviate this issue, among others.

According to the proposal, the complex would cost approximately $1.8 million to build, and would encompass the building of four fields, and would service four leagues. No adult leagues would be using the fields, and all fields would be alcohol free. The Boosters also requested that one of the fields be a “premier field” which would require lighting, for use during night games or late doubleheaders.

During the special hearing, neighbors and residents of the town voiced their concerns over added lighting and noise. Under the proposal, the lighting that would be used would be focused to prevent excess light spillage into other properties, and the speaker systems would be pointed down, to prevent noise pollution, and would only be used to announce batters, and would not be used constantly for play-by-play announcing.

Under the proposal, no taxpayer money would be spent, and it would take the Boosters approximately three-five years to raise the necessary funds to complete the project.

After the hearing had closed, the town board began its regularly scheduled meeting, and a special exception for the Hudson Boosters passed.

Tags: town of hudson, communities, sports, proam