New 70-foot light poles stretch skyward from the perimeter of Keach Park as part of the long-awaited plan to illuminate one of Concord’s most popular athletic fields.
The work is a culmination of years of lobbying from the community organizing group Change for Concord, which implored the City Council to approve the project to support youth equity and access to outdoor recreation on the Heights.
Once complete, the Heights will have the only athletic field with lights in Concord besides the athletic complex at Memorial Field.
Despite the progress, the design is not what advocates had envisioned. These lights will cover a youth-sized field, which is smaller than a traditional soccer pitch.
“Our proposal that we submitted to the city council was acquiring the whole field to have lights,” said Fisto Ndayishimiye, one of the Change for Concord leaders. “The reason why we did that was to be more inclusive, to make sure that the field is utilized by many groups at different times.”
Parks & Recreation Director David Gill said that the area covered is enough for a seven-on-seven soccer match and will greatly expand the soccer clinics and pitch availability for general use.
The city held back on adding more lights to avoid affecting the nearby softball diamond, Gill said.
The existing plan, according to Gill, will not illuminate abutting houses much, won’t generate much light pollution and is also compliant with environmental regulations.
Installation began last month, with nighttime use ready to begin sometime between May and June of next year.
On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the field will be available for rent for leagues and organized groups from dusk to 10 p.m. It will only be closed if the field is deemed unusable or unsafe due to heavy rain or other weather conditions, in which case the public will be notified through Parks & Recreation’s regular channels.
While the lights aren’t everything Ndayishimiye’s group hoped for, he was glad some progress was made after seven years of discussion.
“I really appreciate the leaders of the community, our city staff, for making this happen, even though it took a long time,” he said.