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Work on lower Feeley Field, two of Sudbury’s primary youth softball fields, began this week according to an announcement from the Town. The active portion of the project is expected to extend to October 2026, but the fields will need time to grow in. As a result, the fields will be closed through the summer of 2027 according to the Town announcement.
The project aims to address several issues. The primary target is a drainage problem on the fields, which often feature soggy conditions and overgrown grass in the outfields due to the moisture. But the project doesn’t stop with a drainage solution. The Town noted the following improvements:
- Accessible path from parking lot to far field
- Dugout improvements
- New fencing along 1st and 3rd base sides
- Backstop improvements
- Improved drainage
- New irrigation system
- Improved playing field surface
The first phase of the project attempted to add accessible pathways, but they were routed through the dugouts during construction, rendering them unusable during games. The second phase of the project is expected to fix that design flaw from the first phase, though it won’t address the issue stemming from the first phase at upper Feeley, where there isn’t room to route the pathway outside of the dugout on the first base line.
Phases 1 and 2 of the Feeley project have been funded by Community Preservation Act funds and supported by Sudbury’s Community Preservation Committee. Town Meeting approved the second phase of the project for $799,668 at the Annual Town Meeting in 2023. Phase 1 was approved by Town Meeting in 2021. Both phases faced lengthy delays.
The article for phase 2 can be reviewed below.