Bennington board to review proposal for baseball stadium

BENNINGTON, Vt. --Town officials will be getting their first official look at a baseball stadium proposed for the north end of town.

The Development Review Board will meet Tuesday to hear a presentation from Applejack Real Estate Management to build a 2,000-seat stadium near U.S. Route 7.

"It's a project we've been looking at for a little more than a year," said Bill Colvin, president of Applejack. "We've signed a 49-year lease and we're looking at building it in lower Willow Park."

A team that's been playing in Plattsburgh, N.Y., affiliated with the New York College Baseball League, has agreed to play in Bennington.

"We're currently calling the team the 'Bennington Bombers,' but we're looking for naming opportunities and ideas from the community," said Colvin. "We've formed a partnership with Southern Vermont College. It will be an artificial turf field, and it can be used for soccer or football."

The team will be playing against foes from the Saratoga and Glens Falls, N.Y., areas.

Colvin said the plan called for a broad range of uses for the stadium when there are no baseball games scheduled. "We have a multi-use field in mind," Colvin said. "It will be suitable for concerts and festivals."

Baseball could debut in the park as early as June, he said.

Plans call for a covered grandstand, two clubhouses, a press box, and 8-foot walls in the outfield. The distance from home plate to the center field wall would be about 400 feet and to the foul poles about 320 feet. A final budget has not been settled on yet.

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Information from: Rutland Herald, http://www.rutlandherald.com/