Night Games Approved At West Hartford Prep School

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A West Hartford-based prep school will host two nighttime sporting events next month following recent zoning board approval.

The West Hartford Plan and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 in favor of a temporary special use permit allowing the Kingswood Oxford School, 170 Kingswood Road, to install temporary lighting for a night soccer game and a night football game.

According to the application narrative, the night events will be Sept. 29 at Hoffman Turf Field on campus for a girls soccer game and Sept. 30 on the same field for a football game.

The Aug. 7 PZC vote came after a public hearing on the application, which was submitted to the town in July.

School officials said the night games are becoming a tradition, of sorts, at the prep school.

"The past few falls at Kingswood Oxford have seen an evening community event around a particular sport, cultivating school spirit and community culture," wrote the school.

"We would like to continue the tradition of bringing together our community and town in 2023."

The Sept. 29 soccer game is at 7 p.m., with the sunset that night expected to be about 6:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Sept. 30 football game will kick off at 6 p.m. with the same sunset as the prior evening.

School officials said the lights should be off by 9:30 p.m. both nights, taking into account completion of the games, attendees leaving and post-game cleanups.

Kingswood Oxford said the school is renting 10 sets of portable lights for the field and two portable lights for surrounding areas, including the concession stand and parking access.

The school will post "No Event Parking" signs in the nearby Outlook Avenue and Kingswood Road neighborhoods so as to keep parking in the school.

For the minutes of the Aug. 7 West Hartford Plan & Zoning Commission meeting, click on this link.

For a project narrative from Kingswood Oxford School, click on this link.

For more information on Kingswood Oxford School athletics, click on this link.