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Softball president urges fourth field and longer leases; board weighs parking, football relocation
Summary
League leaders asked the board to convert an underused baseball outfield into a fourth softball field, seek longer lease certainty and permit investments for tournaments; town officials said they will produce site plans and return with a decision after reviewing parking, scheduling and grant timing.
Glenn Gussis, president of Free League Softball, told the Freetown Board of Select on July 13 that his organization has invested in the town’s complex and would like permission to convert an inactive baseball outfield into a fourth softball field and pursue longer-term lease extensions and facility upgrades. “We’ve started hosting tournaments ... We had 12 teams attend,” Gussis said, describing recent demand for expanded play and the league’s willingness to invest in dugouts and fence work.
The board and multiple league representatives discussed how any conversion would affect other user groups. Officials and participants flagged parking shortages, overlapping seasons for softball, football and soccer, and potential impacts on practice space used around the fields. A league representative said removing an existing outfield fence could create sufficient space for a new field; others warned that moving the football field could take more than one season and would require careful timing and funding.
Town members outlined the likely next steps. The board asked league representatives to provide a site plan showing where a fourth field and any relocated football field would fit. The chair and selectmen emphasized that decisions must balance competing uses and avoid creating the impression that one league is given preferential treatment; they said modifications should be phased and coordinated with parking and restroom improvements.
Officials also discussed possible funding. A board member noted a bond allocation and grant prospects that could help pay for parking and bathroom work; the superintendent and the board said larger capital pieces could require borrowing or MSBA grants if schools were involved. “I know we’re good through 2030, and then it talks about the two extensions for five years each afterwards,” a league representative observed about the current lease timeline.
Next steps: league leaders will supply a site layout and cost information; the board plans to schedule a follow-up discussion in the fall (the transcript records the board considering September), after staff and the town’s fields-and-grounds manager review feasibility and timing.
