By Andrew Hackmack
While the Mets and Yankees of the professional circuit will have new stadiums come 2009, the youth of Valley Stream are eagerly anticipating the completion of their new ballfield in time for the coming season.
The little league has partnered with Valley Stream Elementary School District No. 13 to construct a new field at the Howell Road School. Work is nearing completion and a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Saturday, Oct. 6. The first game will be played in the spring.
League treasurer and past president Chris Viggiano explained that the field is designed as a regulation playing field for youth ages 9 through 12, ³which is the heart of little league,² he said. To date, Valley Stream has been unable to host any competitions because of the lack of a regulation field.
³We were tired of playing our tournament games away,² Viggiano said. ³Now we can be a home team.²
He said that Valley Stream is likely the only community in Nassau County that does not have its own regulation field for little league. That will all change come next season when the new facility, featuring 60-feet baselines and a 200-foot homerun fence, is ready for game action.
John Faust, president of Valley Stream Little League, said this new field was basically built from scratch. There was an old rusted backstop on the opposite corner from where the new diamond is situated. Most of the field was dirt and it was shared with soccer.
More than 300 yards of fill was needed to help get the field level. Fences and sprinklers were installed and the new sod will set over the winter, Faust explained.
Ground was broken in early August and construction has progressed steadily since then. Faust estimates that the total cost to construct the new field will be about $220,000. The league paid for about half of those costs from saving money for the past decade. The rest of the funds came from grants and donations.
Although the little league paid to have the field built, it will still be owned by the school district. Faust said they are guaranteed use of the field through a permit process. To maintain their permit, the league must have insurance and only children who live within the central high school district are allowed to participate. These are two stipulations the league has always met, Faust said.
District 13 Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Lison said this project is the culmination of many meetings between league and school district officials. ³We really worked hard in designing a contract that satisfied both parties,² she said.
Lison explained that the benefit for the school district is in the beautification of the Howell Road property. It provides the district with a safe, modern field to use and did not cost taxpayers a single penny. The little league will also be responsible for maintaining the field.
Viggiano said in an effort to raise money for future costs, they will be creating a brick walkway of fame. Any individual can purchase a brick, inscribed with their name, which would become part of the path. His hope is that everyone who has ever played little league in Valley Stream will purchase a brick as a way of giving back.
The Valley Stream Little League is comprised of more than 50 teams serving about 750 children ages 5 to 18. League officials and coaches are all volunteers.
Faust is thankful to the District 13 Board of Education for their help in making the little league¹s dream come true. He noted that it is very rare for a school district and an outside organization to form this kind of a partnership.
³The school board has been wonderful,² Faust said. ³You really have to give them credit. It would have been easy for them to say no.²
