Patton Park Lights To Be Ready for Opening Night

The installation of lights around the baseball field, basketball and tennis courts at could begin as soon as Friday.

On Tuesday, the accepted the donation from Hamilton-Wenham Little League of four light poles to hold the lights around the baseball field at the park.

will also include the replacement of lights around the tennis and basketball courts.

The courts, field and park are owned by the town government, which needed to accept the donation of the equipment and work.

Hamilton-Wenham Little League President Phil Tocci said the additional use of the field that the lights will allow can help e.

“Having an hour and a half or two hours of time will help alleviate the congestion,” he said, later adding: “I think it is a great addition.”

Little League is paying for the lights around the baseball field, worth $43,000. The town is paying for the lights around the courts, worth $41,000.

The Selectmen also accepted a donation of $10,000 worth of work by North Shore Construction Inc. and its owner, Peter Grammas, to excavate and then backfill the trenches needed to run conduits to the light poles.

Later, in an interview, Tocci said Little League would later bring forward more requests for the town to accept further donations to complete the project, including High Tech Electric’s donation of a crane and Curran Electric’s donation of electric work.

In all, the project will cost at least $120,000 and, with the exception of the courts lights, be paid by donations.

“Phil has done yeoman’s work getting this together,” said Selectman Jeff Stinson.

Tocci said the snow has already been moved away from the area where the lights will be installed. An auguring company could begin work digging holes as soon as Friday, Tocci said.

The lights are expected to be fully installed and up and running for opening night – either the last weekend in April or first weekend in May, depending on when the fields are dry and safe.