Concept Drawings Submitted for Little League Ballpark

Conceptual renderings of the Windham Little League Field that would be located just outside the hamlet of Hensonville, along Seeley Road.

WINDHAM - Conceptual drawings have been submitted for the creation of a new Little League ballpark in the town of Windham.

Town supervisor Thomas Hoyt, in a recent interview, said initial sketches from Delaware Engineering are under review, moving toward balancing baseball dreams with everyday dollars.

The preliminary renderings show a roof-covered spectator grandstand, an easily accessible parking lot and an elegantly green ballfield.

Availability of greenbacks will ultimately determine the final blueprints, Hoyt says, aiming toward groundbreaking next year and the umpire’s welcome cry of “Play Ball” in the spring of 2027.

There is much to do before that celebratory occasion including installation of water and wastewater lines as well as the clearing of land gifted to the community by the Windham Foundation.

Town council members, in the winter of 2024, announced a tentative plan to construct two Little League-sized baseball fields at the Windham Path.

That all changed when the Windham Foundation purchased 34 acres of land along Seeley Road on the outskirts of the hamlet of Hensonville.

The short term idea is to construct the facility on 7-plus acres, replacing H.B. Moore Field along South Street in Windham that has served generations of ballplayers, backed by the Knights of the Road.

That spot has become squeezed by a housing project and a much-busier South Street in terms of vehicular traffic, presenting safety concerns and prompting the move.

Ownership of the 7-plus acres has been transferred to the town which has signed a professional services contract with Delaware Engineering.

“Initial discussions with funding entities suggest that this will be a $1.2 million capital project,” the contract states.

Town officials are optimistic that price tag could be substantially reduced by securing grants and other external funding sources, Hoyt says.

Phase I enhancements, depending on costs, could include the following:

—Two-way entrance road, parking lot with spaces for 50 vehicles, little league baseball field with constructed infield;

—Drainage underlying baseball field and a grandstand behind home plate suitable for 100 spectators. Grandstand will be constructed over ADA compliant restrooms and storage rooms for maintenance equipment;

—Warm-up pitching and batting cages. Outfield electronic scoreboard, adjacent pavilion and adjoining playground;

—Electric service for grandstands, maintenance, scoreboard and future outfield lighting;  

—Most of the 7.2 acre lot will be level and graded so that a future soccer filed and or baseball practice field can be situated to the south of the proposed little league field. A skateboard park is also envisioned.

Supervisor Hoyt noted the water and sewer hookups will be integrated into a longterm plan for the area in and around Hensonville.

“Maybe we can get the sewer lines to Elm Ridge, which has had issues for years, and establish another loop for our water system,” Hoyt said.

“We don’t just want to run a bunch of pipe out there. We want to be looking out for the community down the road too,” Hoyt said.

The additional 27 acres could become home to, “multi-use activity that will evolve at the site in the coming years,” the Foundation states.

Those recreational and community activities, “will likely spur continued growth in and around Hensonville which has benefitted from significant recent entrepreneurial and residential investment,” the Foundation states.