Field 1 lights likely ready for fall season

With the approval process underway, Field 1 should have a brighter complexion this fall.

The town is currently working its way through the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals for the “Lights on 1” project, which will see four new light towers erected above the field hockey field, one of two turf surfaces on the Middle School and High School campus.

The approximately $500,000 project, spearheaded by the Weston Boosters, is a private-public partnership, with the Boosters raising $150,000 in private fundraising alongside $400,000 in Community Preservation Act money appropriated at May’s Annual Town Meeting.

“Our part was fundraising; we checked that box and now the project is in the town’s hands … We had so much support, and it’s a really great feeling for everyone to come together for something that’s going to last for a long, long time,” Weston Boosters President Jennifer Betty said. “The Boosters’ hope is we’re still on for a fall installation.”

Accommodating field hockey, lacrosse and several youth sports programs, Field 1 is the most-used field on campus. In the fall, particularly late in the season, daylight is limited, requiring the junior varsity field hockey team to play truncated games before sunset, while also limiting opportunities for other sports programs.

Early in the fundraising process, the Boosters said the project may be ready for use this fall, and Director of Facilities John Marzec and Deputy Director of Project Management Irina Makucha said that timeline is likely to be accomplished.

Although Marzec noted that the lights might not be ready for the first day of school, the project should be completed by the time the fall sports season ends. The Planning Board granted conditional site plan approval, pending a peer review, on July 1 and the project is slated to appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance hearing on July 15, as the 60-foot poles exceed the zoning bylaws’ 37-foot maximum and one of the lights is located in the setback off Wellesley Street.

Once approvals are received and the project is put out to bid, which is a weekslong process, the town can proceed with construction. Marzec noted it will only take a day to erect the lights once everything is ready to go.

“We’re hoping to get it done by the fall, but there are definite structural challenges there,” Marzec said. “Otherwise, we’re trying to consider a contingency for as early in the season as possible … Just because school’s underway doesn’t mean we can’t find a window of opportunity.”

Marzec said the lights are Dark Sky-compliant, and the photometric map shows only a slight impact on Wellesley Street. Makucha added that the proposed light design is “one of the best ones in the industry right now.”

The School Committee previously supported the initial proposal in 2023 and reaffirmed its support this year.

Field 1 was built in 2007, and like the light project, was also privately funded. Electrical conduits were put in place, but the lights were not installed. When the school district pushed school hours later in 2018, it impacted athletic program start times, and the need for lights increased. If the Middle School and High School campus project and fire station project proceed, several fields will be lost, and demand for Field 1 will be driven higher, according to the Boosters.