Fields Full of Homers But Not After Dark

Ten years ago, the Gainesville District Little League had 120 children, former league president Charles W. Husser said. It now has 1,200 and has to limit the number it can sign up at registration.

"Even with the school fields out here, we ran out of options," Husser said. "Once it's dark, game's over. The Sudley Park fields need to be fully utilized, and the only way they will be is if they are lit."

Neighbors who are used to the dark sky take issue with the park authority's 10:45 p.m. curfew for groups using lit fields in other parts of Prince William.

"They ought to be taking the little suckers home to feed them and put them in bed," Phillip Harrover, who lives a half-mile away, said, referring to parents whose kids play that late.

Youth groups are not burning the midnight oil, said Barbara Nugent, who oversees operations for the park authority. Organizations that use the fields can have games until nearly 11 p.m., she said, but many do not.

Lit fields planted with synthetic turf provide 62 percent more playing time, Nugent said. Sudley Park's fields add 9 percent to the county's inventory of 120 fields.

"It's about balancing the needs and wants of the community and extending the recreational day," Nugent said. "I understand what the county leaders wanted for that land in the Rural Crescent. But development is not going to stop. As the community continues to grow, I want to make sure children have good, safe, healthy places to play."

The Board of Supervisors delayed a vote last week, hoping the two sides could reach agreement about the type of lights that would be installed and how late they would stay on each night.

"This isn't going to be about who can bring out the most people," Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) said of the hearing.

"This is about the community working this out," he said. "This is about neighbors talking to sports leagues and making sure the lights are not too disruptive."

Stewart said a majority of the board is likely to support a compromise.

"One way or another, there will be lights on the ballfield," he said.