Windsor Athletics Overhaul Underway

While Windsor manages to send some of Connecticut's most talented athletic squads out on the fields year after year, many have groaned about the quality of fields on which the teams play.

The town council voted to address those issues Monday night, approving the two top priorities in the town's athletic fields master plan.

The council voted a appropriated $150,000 for improvements to Windsor High School's Jack O'Brien Stadium and athletic fields at Oliver Ellsworth School.

$90,000 of the money appropriated was approved for work at O'Brien Stadium, which is slated for transformation into a multi-use field completed with synthetic turf.

One of the major obstacles in the effort to improve the town's athletic facilities has been the fact that they are used so often, according Deputy Mayor Al Simon, who told his colleagues Monday night that synthetic turf will allow the field at O'Brien stadium to be used more often, freeing up other fields in town for improvements in years to come.

O'Brien stadium will also undergo an overhaul of its track and bleachers.

The remaining $60,000 of the money appropriated will go towards improvements at Oliver Ellsworth.

The overall master plan, which is available on the town website, will be carried out over several years, as it will be incorporated into the town's six-year capital improvements plan.