Government

Town Council Approves New Canaan High School Track Replacement, Fields Projects

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The New Canaan Town Council on Thursday unanimously approved funding for the track replacement project at New Canaan High School, along with the “Water Tower Turf One” and “Water Tower Turf Two” projects and the Mead Park baseball fields project. Each of the projects will require bonding; the actual bonding resolutions will be drafted and voted up or down by the council at a later date. Remarkably, local families and youth sports organizations including the New Canaan Athletic Foundation (NCAF) raised more than $2.3 million in private donations that will be used to off-set the cost of three of the five projects. The high school track replacement project will require an appropriation of $1.75 million which will be fully funded through the issuance of bonds. This involves resurfacing the track and expanding it from six to eight lanes.

News

‘Our Town, Our Time’: Ram Spirit Fund Regroups, Expands Sponsorships for Turf Fields at NCHS

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The Ram Spirit Fund
With prospective six-figure donors urging them to garner wider community support, the architects of a plan to create two additional turf playing fields at New Canaan High School are calling on local youth sports families to get behind the estimated $2 million project. Launched about one month ago on a tight timeline, the project calls for one regulation turf field ($800,00) and one full 80-by-60-yard practice field ($400,000) by the water towers at NCHS, game-quality lighting at both ($300,000) and new turf installation at Dunning Stadium ($500,000), according to the Ram Spirit Fund’s leadership. Its committee includes the NCHS athletic director, recreation director of the town and officials from the All Sports Booster Club and youth field hockey, football, lacrosse and soccer groups. If a reasonable number of New Canaan families step up by sponsoring a square yard of turf at $500 each—the Ram Spirit Fund this week is launching a new “Our Town, Our Time” fundraising push—then the base money raised there combined with what’s been pledged will put the project on track, said Michael Murphy of the All Sports Booster Club. “There are 3,000 youth sports families in this town and we’ve giving them an opportunity to show support for this community project,” Murphy said.

News

Ram Spirit Fund: Formal Planning, Fundraising Efforts Underway for Two New Turf Fields at NCHS

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Nearly two years after receiving municipal approvals, a plan to create two additional turf athletic fields at New Canaan High School is gaining momentum this week, as a website, formal fundraising effort, renderings and timetable for the project have materialized. Through the newly created “Ram Spirit Fund,” a committee that includes the NCHS athletic director, recreation director of the town and officials from youth field hockey, football, lacrosse and soccer groups are seeking to raise $2 million by the end of this month. With those funds in hand, the committee would put the project out to bid in May, start work in June and have the fields ready for when the next academic year kicks off in September, according to a timetable published on the website. The fields would be located across the parking lot from Dunning Field, running from the tennis courts toward Waveny. Nick Williams—both a selectman who voted in favor of the project in July 2013 and a longtime youth sports parent who has launched a website dedicated to NCHS soccer teams—said the new turf fields are “something we need in town.”

“One of the trends continuing trends that we’re seeing in New Canaan is really the explosion of girls’ sports.