Navajo Fields Nears First Stage of Completion

In recent years, Yorktown’s sports fanbase, especially with the help of “The Crop,” has developed a reputation as being one of the most passionate in the area. Soon, it will also have the facilities to match.

In May, construction workers broke ground on Navajo Fields on Navajo Street off of Route 6. The 50-acre site will be home to two multi-purpose fields in hopes of hosting major events and attracting top athletes, not from just around the county and the tri-state area, but also the country.

“What we’re looking to do is provide a platform to bring in the best possible providers and teams,” said attorney Charles Diven, a driving force behind the project. “We envision that one day college scouts will be here watching these games.”

Diven already has been in talks to bring in some of the top amateur baseball and lacrosse teams in the state to play at the new fields.

“By bringing in teams like that, we’re hoping to broaden the geographical reach,” Diven said. “Because you’ll get teams from the Carolinas that want to come. Whereas they’re not gonna do that for just a local team.”

Each field will have a 90-foot baseball diamond, which can also be used for football, lacrosse and soccer, all held to professional standards and dimensions. According to Diven, the first field will be ready for use before September.

The second, larger field will have a turf infield and 400-feet outfield walls, making for an even more professional experience. The field will be so large, in fact, that other sports can be played strictly in the outfield, with the baseball diamond not coming into play. That field is expected to be ready by the third week of September.

Recently, Councilman Terrence Murphy and Assemblymen Steve Katz (R,I-Yorktown) visited the construction site, and both spoke highly of the facility.

“I’m looking forward to it as being a real jewel in the new development of our town,” Katz said. “I’m looking at a safe place for my children that provides jobs in both construction and for the people working there.”

Currently, there are seven workers involved with the project, which will undergo two phases of construction. After the fields are layed down and ready for use, Navajo Fields will go through the application process once again in order to build an additional 220,000 square foot dome for hockey, basketball and other indoor sports. That process will likely take between 12-18 months, according to Murphy.

Despite the backing of Murphy, Katz and other legislators, Navajo Fields was completely constructed through private funds.

“The man whose dream this is, who’s building it, he put up his own cash to get this started,” Katz said.

That man is Diven. However, he did not reveal specifics on the cost.

He and Navajo Fields, Inc. first brought the project to the town's board almost two years ago. While Diven says the facility currently has a good political push behind it, there were some initial concerns, including the parking and how the new fields might affect traffic in the area.

Diven said the complex will have 127 parking spaces, which he believes is enough because the facility is targeted for high school-aged athletes.

Navajo Fields also faced hurdles with environmental issues.

“Initially we made some concessions environmentally to maintain certain things that they had wanted,” Diven said.

Some of those concessions involved re-planting a number of trees and improving buffer zones with better vegetation in support of wildlife in the area.

“It’s amazing what he’s done in just three months,” Murphy said of Diven." 

Along with the fields, Diven wants to provide a unique ambiance to match. In the future, he plans on restoring a four-acre pasture near the ballfields that was once used for horse stables.

“It’d be nice if you’re playing a baseball game and people came out and were riding a horse down there,” Diven said.

Navajo Fields also will have walking trails through the wetlands that will connect to senior housing down the street.

Murphy said the field is in a good location, close to neighboring towns such as Mahopac, Putnam Valley and Somers.

He said Navajo Fields will be a boon to the area.

“It’s great for economic development. It’s going to create more jobs, it’s going to create more tax revenue for the county… This is a homerun for the town.”