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Watertown parks committee seeks options to curb late-night stadium lighting, weighing LED upgrade cost
Summary
Residents told the Parks and Recreation committee that Victory Field stadium lights are too bright and often left on late; staff will investigate timing, zoning into dimming zones, LED conversion costs (estimated at $500,000), and alternative fields for after-dark free play.
The Committee on Parks and Recreation reviewed resident complaints March 11 about late-night lighting at Victory Field Stadium and agreed to have staff investigate technical and operational options including LED conversion, zone controls, and alternative field use.
Councilor Palumbo, chair of the committee, said the meeting was convened after several residents complained that stadium lights remained on until 10 p.m. most nights even when the field was empty. Resident Dan Grossman described estimating costs by wattage and comparing those to typical residential lighting expenses.
Recreation staff reported that the current halogen system at Victory Field and Casey Park lacks automatic timing or public shutoff and that the installed Musco halogen fixtures do not support full automatic zone control. The committee heard that LED upgrades would permit multiple zones and dimming; the staff's preliminary cost estimate to replace the stadium lights with LED fixtures was about $500,000.
Committee members and residents suggested several measures: installing an on-off switch or zone controls, adopting a resident-request system for staff to enable lights only when fields are in use, dimming or using only one of two existing zones at night, redirecting after-dark free play to a smaller, less brightly lit field, and reducing hours of operation during low-demand months (December 1–April 1). Committee members asked staff to investigate the feasibility, costs, and usage impacts of each option.
The committee voted to continue the discussion and requested that recreation staff return with data on usage, costs, and technical options, and, if possible, arrange for a Musco representative to attend a future meeting to explain LED benefits and costing. The committee is to reconvene in roughly one month to review findings.
The council later voted to accept the committee report as presented; the committee's follow-up meeting will present more detailed recommendations for council consideration.
