There’s frustration from the Amherst Girls Softball League over their home fields at the Northtown Center.
The fields are part of the town’s Amherst Central Park project.
According to the league, the town isn’t being transparent about renovations to the park. The league said the town recently reduced the number of softball diamonds from seven to four without any advanced notice.
“I know that they have nothing but the best of intentions but sometimes that doesn’t result in what we have planned,” said League Commissioner Michelle Maccagnano.
Maccagnano said one of the league’s greatest concerns is Aunt Rosie’s tournament, It is a national tournament held at Northtown, and it generates millions in economic revenue each year.
Amherst Town Supervisor Brian Kulpa said the reduction of fields was agreed upon by league heads several years back. He said the new leadership must not have been aware it was losing three fields during the construction phase of the project. He said they're working out the usage of other fields to bring the number up to six available diamonds.
He also told 7 Eyewitness News the town is still in the process of finalizing land agreements with surrounding properties. It is something that is required for the entire project to move forward. Kulpa said he’s prohibited from discussing those details until the contracts are final. Still, he’s confident the future diamonds will rival some of the top sports facilities in the northeast.
“It’s going to take a little bit of undulating and some patience, and some shift this field over here, but ultimately the end product is going to be absolutely wonderful,” he said.
“I just want to have a field and a place where the girls can play because this is a wonderful organization,” Maccagnano said.
