A group of citizens with a long track record of getting things done wants to raise money to put up lights at the Seymour High School softball field.
Seymour High School Softball Coach Ken Pereiras talked about the idea at the June 3 meeting of the Seymour Board of Selectmen.
Seymour softball is an elite program. This year’s team is one of the best in the state.
On May 30, the team won the Naugatuck Valley League Championship after beating Torrington, 2 – 1. It’s the 18th NVL title for the program.
Seymour softball won state championships in 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. From 2005 – 2007, they had a 78-game winning streak, according to Wikipedia.
This year the athletes have made it to the quarterfinals of the class M state championship. They play Suffield on Friday in Seymour at 2:30 p.m.
Pereiras said playing night games under the lights at the high school softball field will attract crowds and give more parents a chance to see their daughters on the diamond.
“It would be a great addition to our program, it would generate more attendance, more people would get to see is,” Pereiras said. “It would help us to continue what we’ve been doing.”
A number of families active in the community are ready to raise money for the lights, the coach said.
“We have a group of parents who are really into it, and they want to get going with it,” he said.
Some of those parents include Chris Adamo, treasurer of the Seymour Tradition softball program, and a board member of George J. Hummell Little League.
Adamo is part of a group of residents who created the annual “Smoke in the Valley,” and helped to bring a 5k race to town as part of the annual “Seymour Pink“ festivities.
He also spoke to the Selectmen June 3.
“It’s a group that when we set our mind to do something, we get it done,” Adamo said. “What we’re looking at doing is going and raising private funds to put lights and some other items up there — a flagpole, some fencing,” he said.
Adamo said corporate sponsors will be sought out, along with non-profit groups that bestow grants.
A preliminary estimate puts the project in the neighborhood of $100,000 to $115,000.
The project has the support of the school board, Adamo said.
The Selectmen also liked the idea.
“Chris, I’ve known you for a long time,” said Selectman Paul Roy. “I know when you set out to do something, you get it accomplished. I really congratulate you on trying to get this project done.”
