Carcieri Field Concession Stand Nears Completion

One of the items left on the cutting room floor, so to speak, when the fields at East Greenwich High School were renovated and the turf field was added two years ago, was a concession stand. Now the concession stand is a reality and will be ready for customers at home games in September.

“We’re hoping by next week we can turn the keys over” to the School Department, said Director of Public Works Joe Duarte earlier this week. The stand was built largely by EG Public Works employees, with money from the town’s Impact Fee fund. Last spring, Duarte had estimated it would cost $128,000. So far, Duarte said, it’s cost about $120,000.

"It's appropriate to use impact fees for this part of the project," said Town Council President Michael Isaacs . The fee is imposed on developers who build houses in East Greenwich. Isaacs said that the fund was established to address the needs of a growing community and that he thought the concession stand for the new field would qualify under that.

Originally, the concession stand was going to be paid for with money raised by the Fields Committee, an ad hoc group of residents and town officials involved with youth sports in town.

Some of the money raised was spent on plans for a concession stand. In addition, some money went to pay for improved field amenities, such as better goal posts than those originally specified. In the end, the committee was tens of thousands short of what would be needed to build the stand. But a foundation was poured, because the building was to hold electrical and sprinkler controls for the fields, and a prefabricated shed was bought to protect those controls.

Last year, , the EGHS Booster Club set up a tent and tables and sold refreshments. There were (and still are) two port-a-johns at the far end of the field. The new concession stand will replace the tent-and-table setup and it has two bathrooms.

“I’m really happy with how it turned out,” said Duarte.