At one point during a public forum Tuesday at Derby Middle School Janine Netto, a member of the Derby school board, walked to the podium and asked a question.
How many people wanted to put a new baseball field in Witek Park?
About 140 people didn’t make a sound.
How many people want a baseball complex behind the Bradley School?
Thunderous applause.
Netto sat down without further comment.
She was one of about a dozen speakers who shared their thoughts on a plan to move the Derby High School baseball team’s field from the Leo F. Ryan Athletic Complex on Chatfield Street.
Derby city government and the city’s Board of Education are searching for a new home for the baseball field because Derby is receiving $2.9 million from the state.
The money will be used to put an artificial turf football field/soccer field at the Ryan Athletic Complex, surrounded by a new, 8‑lane track. A new field house will be constructed there as well.
But the new items means there’s no room for the existing baseball field — and there are only two places it can go.
- Witek Park, on Academy Hill Road, currently home to Derby Youth Soccer.
- Behind the Bradley School on the David Humphreys Road.
Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway explained that the school board would prefer to keep all the athletic fields close to Derby High School off Chatfield Street. But there’s no way to do that without taking drastic measures, such as moving Nutmeg Avenue itself. That’s too expensive, Conway said.
Osbornedale State Park, with ample open space across from Derby High School, cannot be used because of restrictions put on the land when it was given to the state.
After the 90 minute meeting Tuesday in front of the “Baseball Relocation Committee,” Witek Park also seemed off the table.
Putting a baseball field there would cause Derby Youth Soccer to lose about 50 percent of their playing space, all but crippling their program, Derby soccer parents, players and coaches said.
In addition, the 144-acre park comes with strict land use regulations. Permanent structures aren’t permitted there. Neither are any toilets other than portables. Things that make for good baseball fields — batting cages, dugouts, even lights — would not be permitted.
Many soccer supporters — who last year felt left out of the initial field discussions — held small signs at the meeing like the one below.
But Tuesday’s meeting did not turn into youth soccer versus Derby baseball.
Instead, the crowd pressed the seven-member “Derby Baseball Field Relocation Committee” to find a solution without hurting any of the sports programs in the city.
The consensus was to leave Witek Park for soccer and make the land behind the Bradley School a dedicated baseball “complex.”
In the video below, Alderman Ron Sill addresses the crowd. The article continues below.
Derby High School varsity baseball coach Steve Bainer explained the high school has a solid team — but it’s hard to develop players in Derby. That’s because Derby baseball players have nowhere to play after finishing Little League at age 13.
The current baseball field is less than ideal. It’s not a regulation sized field, and the football field takes up a chunk of the field.
A dedicated baseball complex at the Bradley School could help the situation, Bainer said.
But, if the high school baseball team moves to Bradley, the city loses fields used by softball and Derby Middle School baseball.
That’s not acceptable either, the crowd said.
Carmen DiCenso, president of the Board of Aldermen, and Beverly Moran, a former member of the Board of Aldermen, pointed out there’s woods next to the Bradley School, and that perhaps the city could negotiate to buy some land so no programs suffer.
“Bradley is the spot, and I believe we can build two baseball fields there,” he told the crowd.
It’s something the committee will be exploring.
Members of the committee include Andrew Cota, Jack Walsh, Derby Parks & Recreation Director Dennis O’Connell, Alderman Pete Olenoski, Alderman Ron Sill, Alderwoman Barbara L. DeGennaro, and Derby Public Works Director Anthony DeFala.
The committee will eventually make a recommendation to the school board and to the Board of Aldermen, but the ultimate decision is up to the Aldermen.
Derby elected officials and members of the public urged the committee to take its time before reaching a decision.
“It’s more important to do it right than to do it cheap or to do it quick,” school board member Jim Gildea told the committee.
Derby baseball dad John Netto urged the committee to give athletic programs room to grow.
“Wherever you put us, please think of the future,” Netto said.
“Build it right,” former Alderman Sam Rizzitelli said. “Build that baseball complex right. Get them that upgrade.”
