An entrance sign near Nolan Field.
ANSONIA – Ansonia residents want utility work on Nolan Field to hurry up before the baseball season starts in March.
United Illuminating (UI) started doing work on Nolan Field last year. That work is part of a larger project to rebuild four miles of century-old power lines between Ansonia and Derby. UI said replacing the power lines is necessary in order to keep electric service reliable.
At the Board of Aldermen’s monthly meeting on Jan. 12, two Ansonia residents and a baseball coach asked about the continued work at the location, which was originally scheduled to wrap up in December 2024.
“I just want to know if the fields will be playable for the high school, middle school, and the Babe Ruth baseball teams this spring,” city resident Anne Lynch said.
Economic development director Sheila O’Malley responded that, although the work had encountered delays, UI expects to wrap up work by the end of February.
“We told UI that we need the field from the first week of March, so they understand that,” O’Malley said. “They’ve indicated it will be ready to go by then, and that’s the latest communication as of yesterday (Jan. 11).”
Ansonia resident Amy Brejwo said she’s worried about that timeline.
“That gives about two weeks for whatever part of center field is being worked on right now to be restored,” Brejwo said. “Do we know what that means, what UI has said they’re willing to do in order to restore the field in order to ensure that it is playable, safely, for our athletes?”
Ansonia High School baseball coach Patrick Palmer asked what the backup plan is if the work doesn’t finish on time. Tryouts are March 22, he said, and the field will be needed before that date.
“I know we talked about a backup plan. Are there any ideas where that would be?” he asked.
Corporation counsel John Marini responded that there are no solid backup plans as of now, but that that should become a priority.
“We’re going to be looking for updates as we move through this month, that way we can anticipate what’s happening at that location and what the need might be to relocate the activities in March if it comes down to that,” Marini said.
O’Malley wrote in an email to The Valley Indy that UI said they’ll be out of Nolan Field by the end of February.
Nolan Field is home to the only full-size baseball diamond in Ansonia. Separately, there are also plans to renovate the entire field using voter-approved borrowing, but there is no date set for those renovations yet.
