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Marblehead's Recreation and Parks Commission voted 4-1 on Friday afternoon to advance planning for both phases of the Reynolds Playground project, clearing the way for further design work on a covered, refrigerated rink and an adjacent turf field that supporters say will serve multiple youth sports year round.
The vote – in which Larry Simpson's sole dissenting vote was related to the artificial turf in the project's Phase 2 – moves forward both Phase 1, a $3.6 million covered sports deck to replace the aging Green Street rink, and Phase 2, which would rebuild the adjacent softball diamond and add a multiuse turf field. The decision follows a Tuesday public meeting at which residents, youth sports leaders and young athletes urged the commission to build the facility, citing long drives to rinks in Salem, Lynn, Andover and Revere for practices that start as early as 6:30 a.m. and end as late as 10 p.m.
Phase 1 would be funded entirely by a bequest from Larz Anderson granted in 2018, now worth about $3.3 million. The plan calls for a 170-ft-by-70-ft sports deck under a pavilion-style airnasium roof, with modular turf that can roll out when ice is not installed, giving lacrosse and soccer programs a covered practice surface for about 20 weeks a year.
Commission Chair Rossana Ferrante said in a Friday interview that feedback from Tuesday's public meeting helped shape the commission's approach heading into the vote.
"Feedback from Tuesday's meeting was meaningful and it has helped further shape the plan to make sure we preserve usability and playability of existing fields," Ferrante said.
Ferrante said the commission worked to balance the new rink and field improvements against the needs of groups already using Reynolds Playground, including the nearly 90-year-old Marblehead men's softball league, whose representatives raised concerns Tuesday about a proposed 42-stall parking lot that would cut into right field.
"We've made some good trade-offs to still preserve the playability and usability of the existing field, while moving forward with the transition and the development of the hockey rink," Ferrante said.
Due diligence on the specific type of turf to be installed for Phase 2 will take place during the procurement process, Ferrante said, rather than before the planning phase advances.
The commission is also exploring a proposal for additional funding through a shared pool available to a small number of town organizations, Ferrante said, though she declined to discuss specifics while the proposal is being developed.
Ferrante pushed back on the perception that the project is driven primarily by hockey interests, noting that Marblehead Youth Lacrosse and Marblehead Youth Soccer, which fields about 900 players each fall and spring, also stand to benefit.
"We are excited about the project," Ferrante said. "We feel there's a lot of support and that it's going to benefit multiple sports."
She said the Anderson bequest had been sitting for years and that the commission is glad to finally put it to use in a way she described as long-lasting and meaningful to many groups across the community.
Next, the Phase 1 budget must go before the Select Board for approval. Recreation and Parks Commissioner Shelly Curran Bedrossian said Tuesday that construction would take six to eight months, with procurement beginning in May and a target opening of late 2026 or early 2027. Phase 2 remains unsettled on funding, and the commission has not identified a source to pay for rebuilding the softball diamond and adding the multiuse field.
Ferrante said the commission's Friday vote authorized the next level of planning detail on both phases, signaling to project consultants at CHA Consulting that the work should move ahead.
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