With a little more room to swing a bat or kick a ball, Newtown's athletes can soon enjoy two new field locations.

"We are raising the elevation at the middle school," of an area between the existing baseball field and soccer field - an area that is often very "swampy," said Assistant Director of Parks Carl Samuelson. "We are using an area that we have never been able to use before, so it's a win for everybody and it's helping create more play space for the town and school."

The area "was always too wet for any kind of field use," he said. The project is partially complete and will begin again in coming weeks. Both Parks and Recreation and the Public Works Departments are contributing to the work, which will be done with available materials.

Parks and Recreation Director Amy Mangold noted that fill for the space to elevate the field level is "using many town recycled resources" coming from other town projects. Mr Samuelson said they are using some of the crushed brick from Canaan House - a large building recently razed in Fairfield Hills. They are also "using some of the spoils from sewer line extension projects," he said. He will either seed it this year or let the finished and graded soil settle over the winter and seed in the spring, depending on the availability of materials.

"The long-term goal is to raise the baseball field, as well, to the same level," he said.

Glander III

Residents who enjoy the trails at Fairfield Hills often pull into the lot in front of Cochran House off of Mile Hill South near Glander fields. From there they enter the hiking trail that skirts baseball fields to the right. Hikers heading into the woods now also pass a new baseball field on their left where sod lines the infield and grass seed is down on the outfield. The new field is Glander III.

"With an additional field we will be able to spread out the wear and hope to keep fields in better shape," Mr Samuelson said. "We added a baseball field because we need more softball fields" at the Liberty Field location, he said. His department will convert a lower Liberty field on Elm Drive from baseball to softball, "so the net gain is in softball by repurposing existing Liberty field."

All work has been done "in house," he said. The field project funds came from $50,000 in the budget and an overall $30,000 in Parks and Recreation Department surcharge, $20,000 of which came from Newtown Youth Baseball and Newtown Youth Softball each. The new diamond is a 70-foot baseline field that he expects to open next fall. "It's a matter of letting turf mature," he said.

"We're pretty good" for overall field space in town, Mr Samuelson said. He does see issues with lack of irrigation or lack of drainage on town fields, which are "so highly used they are hard to maintain."