Simsbury Selectmen approve 10-year license with soccer club for Curtis Park fields

The Simsbury Board of Selectmen voted to authorize the town manager to execute a license agreement with the Simsbury Soccer Club that formalizes the club’s exclusive seasonal use of soccer fields at Curtis Park. The board approved the agreement after three nights of public hearings and revisions to the draft aimed at addressing resident concerns about future field changes.

The agreement, as approved, sets a 10-year term with a 5-and-5 review provision and removes any plan to authorize turf installation within the document. Town Manager Mark Nelson told the board the draft incorporated recommendations from the town attorney and risk manager and that financial and insurance reviews had been completed. “We made all of the recommendations from the town attorney,” Nelson said during the discussion.

The memorandum of understanding and license are intended to recognize the de facto role the club has played at Curtis Park while clarifying responsibilities, insurance, event permitting and maintenance. Ben Berger, president of the Simsbury Soccer Club, urged the board to approve the agreement so residents and volunteer fundraisers could move ahead with a capital campaign to improve Curtis Park. “All we’re trying to do is codify what is reality already… that enables us to try to take the next steps to make it better for the community,” Berger said during public comment.

Opponents at public hearings raised environmental and traffic concerns and urged the board to prohibit turf, lights and extensive paving. One speaker, identified in the public record as a town resident opposing turf, said the proposed changes would “pave a flood plain next to a wild and scenic river” and argued the town should not permit development on public open land. The board’s final draft explicitly omits turf approvals; town attorney Bob DeCrescenzo and staff said any future proposal for turf or substantial permanent improvements would require separate land-use review and the owner’s signature (the Board of Selectmen) to submit applications.

The agreement preserves the town’s role as landowner. Selectmen and the town attorney emphasized that no turf or permanent lighting can be installed without a subsequent owner-authorized land-use application and review by land-use bodies. “If the soccer club wanted to come forward and present a plan for a turf field on town-owned land… they would have to make that presentation to the Board of Selectmen as the owner of the land,” the town attorney explained during discussion.

Park and Recreation Commission chair David Bush told the board the club has been a long-term partner that would fund improvements without asking taxpayers for the full cost. The Park and Rec Commission had unanimously recommended the agreement to the Board of Selectmen.

The board took a final motion authorizing the town manager to execute the license agreement with an effective date of Sept. 8, 2025. The motion carried on voice vote. The board recorded that standard public-gathering permits will still be required for large events and tournaments beyond routine seasonal play, and the town will remain the applicant for any land-use filings.

The board noted the club can continue ordinary fundraising and operational planning under the license but that separate approvals would be needed for site alterations, lighting or turf. Officials said soil, floodplain and environmental constraints remain subject to the normal permitting process.

Members of the public and commissioners who raised concerns about traffic, late-night lights and environmental impacts were recorded in the hearing record; the board did not adopt a separate ban on turf fields but reiterated future physical changes would require owner consent and full land-use review. The agreement establishes a framework for continued public use of Curtis Park while giving the club a defined role in management and fundraising for field upkeep.

The board closed the public hearing on the Simsbury Soccer Club application before taking the final vote.