The search for more field space in Barrington continued on Thursday, May 15.

Town officials held a special meeting focused on playing fields — there were updates to current field construction projects; a discussion about the possible reconfiguration of existing field space in town; and questions about the potential impact of school construction projects on the availability of certain athletic fields. 

Barrington High School Director of Athletics George Finn said it is still hard to determine how the school construction project will affect sports fields. Finn said the varsity softball field and varsity soccer field will be off-line once work starts at the high school. He also said it could take some time for those fields to be playable once the construction ends. 

Some school fields could become staging areas during the construction projects, officials said. The softball field at Primrose Hill School and one of the Little League fields at Sowams will likely go off-line.

Finn said the construction schedule was unclear.

A new synthetic turf field at Barrington High School’s Victory Field complex will relieve some of the pressure on other athletic fields in town, Finn said. The BHS Victory Field project is scheduled to begin on June 9 and be completed in early October. 

Haines Park

The Haines Park field renovation project is underway. 

The work includes the relocation of the small Little League baseball field — Harrington Field — and construction of a new multi-sport athletic field. New fences will be installed at the softball field, as well as batting cages, a concession stand/utility shed, and a scoreboard. The project also includes irrigation for all the fields.

An official with the Barrington Department of Public Works said the new Haines Park fields will not be ready for play until the spring of 2027. Initially it was thought that the softball field would come back online earlier than that, but a DPW official said that is not the case because irrigation is being installed in that field also, which will require the replanting of the outfield grass. 

Sports league representatives and town officials also discussed the possibility of converting the large baseball field located in the eastern end of Haines Park (closer to Washington Road) into another rectangular multi-sport athletic field. Reports have shown that the town needs more multi-sport athletic fields. 

Officials said the large baseball diamond is still needed, as the Victory Field project required the elimination of the JV baseball field at the high school. Meanwhile, the high school has three baseball teams (varsity, junior varsity and freshman), the middle school added a baseball team this year, and Barrington Little League also has a team that plays on the large baseball diamond. The town currently has three large baseball fields (BHS varsity, BMS, and Haines) for five baseball teams. 

Barrington officials are taking a closer look at Chianese Field and whether it could be reconfigured into new field spaces. In addition, the town studied the possible construction of a Little League field at the Perna Park property on Sowams Road. Officials said that parcel appears to be too small to fit a Little League field. A youth sports league representative said Perna has also been plagued by piles of dog waste.

Numbers needed

Barrington Town Council member Kate Berard asked for player participation numbers for the different youth sports leagues in town. She said data would be helpful as town officials plan for future field use. Berard said she learned that Barrington did not have enough players to field a senior division youth softball team this year. 

Barrington Little League President Aaron Aguiar said the creation of a Barrington Middle School softball team a year ago pulled players away from the youth sports league. He said Barrington Little League still has a senior division baseball team. 

Berard also referenced the idea of contacting the owners of the ShineHarmony property — the former Zion Bible College property — to see if some of that property could help accommodate sports leagues while the school construction project was underway.