Weather Will Determine Ballfield Completion Date

 As warm weather slowly approached last month, the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy prepared, at long last, to lay down sod for its new ballfields, and the Downtown Little League finalized plans for playing one more season on other fields.

Downtown Little League practice got off to an early start last month as the Dodgers (above) and other teams played at Chelsea Waterside Park. Photo by Brad Horrigan

The fields are expected to be ready for action in early summer, too late for this baseball season, which opens April 5 (the opening day ceremony is at 9 a.m. on Pier 25).

Construction crews have been waiting for the ground to thaw and dry out before laying down the sod.

“We need hot and dry weather for a few weeks, and then, after the grass is down, you want cool and rainy weather,” said Tessa Huxley, executive director of the Parks Conservancy.

Once the grass is in place, which should be by the end of the month, it needs a couple of months to become strong enough to play on.

In the meantime, a ballfields advisory group, with representatives of the Parks Conservancy, the Battery


Park City Authority, the Little League, the Downtown Soccer League, Community Board 1 and local elected officials, has been meeting about once a month to establish rules for the fields. The group was scheduled to meet again on April 2 to discuss the Parks Conservancy’s draft rules.

Several restrictions initially proposed by the Parks Conservancy to protect the new turf were eased after league officials and other community leaders raised concerns.

Children will be allowed to wear rubber cleats, though metal spikes will be prohibited and adults will be barred from playing in any cleats.

The fields will probably be closed one full day a week, most likely Mondays (the same rule applied to the temporary fields), and two other mornings a week, for maintenance and to give the grass time to recover.

It had yet to be decided whether the two baseball fields will have grass or dirt infields.

“There are still a number of issues yet to be fully addressed, like how the fields will be configured and maintained, but I’m hopeful they can all be figured out,” said Don Schuck, president of the soccer league.

Little Leaguers will play at sites including East River Park and Chelsea Waterside Park. Starting April 15, T-ballers can play in Battery Park City’s Rockefeller Park. Schedules will be posted on the league’s website, at downtownlittleleague.org.