Broken goal posts frame Daly Field in Brighton. The high school football players disappeared decades ago. Today, filthy Canada geese march up and down the field. There are plenty of run-down properties in the portfolio of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. But Daly Field is right up there in terms of deferred maintenance.
A plan to restore the park is gaining strength in the Legislature. Simmons College, which is starved for playing surfaces for its athletes, would assume financial responsibility for the field. The college is prepared to commit $5 million in capital improvements and $250,000 annually for maintenance. State and local officials from Brighton are rooting loudly for this deal.
Comments
Larry you don't know what you are talking about here. Precedents already exist for this type of private-public development. Having been a member of one of the last football teams to call Daly Field our home, it's well overdue for an overhaul, and Simmons plans make sense. When the MDC attempted to improve conditions in the 70's, we got new grass and the team building. The grass lasted less than a season, and the building couldn't be opened for Sunday games, as the custodians didn't work that day! Take a look at Clemente Field in the Fens and tell me that the "public" was shortchanged. Emmanuel stepped up to the plate and created a first class site, used by their teams and lots of citizens of the city.
I'm not opposed to this deal. The skating rink deal does allow public skating, how much is "enough" is always debatable. And the Community Rowing boathouse deal on the other side of Daly Field has been a tremendous success. How about adding the "MDC" swimming pool at the foot of Brooks St. to the program? That would really add neighborhood value.
Daly Field has been abandoned for over twenty years by the State. Brighton High School does not have their own field. Obviously, Menino has seen no political reason for supporting a field in this location as he would in politically correct neighborhoods. Now out of the woodwork comes the ever obstructing tree huggars and their hoard of patrons. Now Simmons College is offering funding, maintenance and a home field for Brighton High athletes. They have put some limits on the field as well they should for such an investment. Your article is both misdirected and naive, the real issue is why Brighton High School athletes have no home.
Bravo, Larry, for saying as it is! This deal stinks - the old style, behind the closed door business. It benefits only Simmons and some local team sports interests that Brighton politicians approve of, and leaves other users & visitors to the river bank who don't have a seat at the table out to dry. The primary issue is, why doesn't the legislature adequately and appropriately finance DCR? Could it be because its members are in cahoots with powerful institutions and rich people who sit on their boards? The public is duped into believing that this state of affairs is good for them. Humbug. What we need is the Commonwealth to truly protect our commonwealth. A field that is on the edge of the Charles cannot be just about football and other team sports, tennis, etc. This is about preserving public access to the river at all times, and ensuring ecological and landscape design features that would enhance the location from the esthetic standpoint. You need trees, beautiful vegetation, wildlife, a bucolic environment for city people to visit when they need some time to decompress, not just astroturf & organized sports monopolizing what rightfully belongs to all citizens of Boston and Massachusetts.