City of Ansonia
A screenshot of the improvements plan. Slight changes have been made to the field on the right.
ANSONIA – An Ansonia committee Jan. 30 approved a $9.1 million plan to redevelop Nolan Field.
The Ansonia “fields subcommittee” – made up of members of the board of education and board of Aldermen – voted to send the plan forward to the city. The next step is for the city to put it out to bid.
The plan is the centerpiece of a $10 million proposal to redevelop four fields throughout the city.
While the Nolan Field plan was approved, the three other fields – Abe Stone Park at Colony Pond, Nelligan Field, and the Ansonia Nature Center – will need to be approved separately.
The money for the project comes from loans approved by voters in a 2023 referendum.
The Nolan Field project includes installing turf on all fields, and creating new fields on that turf to be used for soccer, football, and baseball. Other field improvements include reconstructing three tennis courts, installing LED lighting and fencing throughout the field, and upgrading bleachers to be more accessible.
Parking space would also be added where the basketball/pickleball court currently is, with that court being moved to an area where the cell tower currently is.
The city’s school baseball teams will have to play all games as away games this season, city corporation counsel John Marini said in an Aldermen subcommittee meeting. He said in a later meeting that the city’s practice fields will be rehabbed so they can be used for practices.
He estimated the cost of fixing up the practice fields at around $20,000, and said that it was cheaper than arranging for practice at other towns’ fields.
At a previous meeting, the fields subcommittee said that an expansion of the Nolan plans could come at a later date, and that Kennedy Field House could be renovated. Whether that gets added to the project later depends on if the city can get reimbursed from the state, Marini said.
He said the city hopes to have the construction out to bid later this month.
