In today's New London Day.....

Renovations At Dodd To Be Done By Opening Day Controversial Parking Fee Decision Still Looms

Norwich — The Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium is expected to open on schedule April 3 for opening day of the Connecticut Defenders 2008 minor league baseball season after a frantic month of renovations in March.
Whether fans will be paying $2 to park or paying more for a ticket is still undecided.

Defenders General Manager Charlie Dowd asked the Baseball Stadium Authority Wednesday for public assurances that repairs to the failing sprinkler system would be done on time, citing several phone calls he has received from concerned fans that the stadium would not open.

Fire officials determined last September that the sprinkler system did not have sufficient water pressure to meet state fire suppression regulations. Deputy Fire Marshal James Roberts issued an order and a warning that the system be repaired before opening day or he would not allow the stadium to be occupied.

After working with sprinkler system engineers throughout the fall and winter, the authority received approval from the City Council Feb. 4 to forgo the normal competitive bidding process and spend up to $46,290 to hire Liberty Mechanical Inc. of Waterford, the firm that services the sprinkler system, to correct the problems. The firm will split the system into three segments to ensure that high-pressure water reaches all points.

Stadium Authority member Gary Schnip, who oversees stadium operations, said Wednesday that the company has ordered parts for the job. But the authority is still waiting for the city finance office to issue a purchase order for the work, Schnip said. The work is expected to take about five weeks but should be done by the end of March, Schnip said.

The authority also is waiting for a city purchase order for the work approved last year to renovate public bathrooms at the stadium — long a source of fan complaints. That work cannot take place until spring, and likely will run through the first month of the season.

Dowd said that should be OK, as the stadium could keep open one set of bathrooms for men and one for women while closing other facilities. Crowds in April typically are light after opening day, and the team is playing on the road from April 10 to 16 and again from April 24 to 28.

Dowd also told the authority that team officials have not made any decisions on whether to charge for parking for Defenders games this year. Ticket prices and advertising rates have remained the same for the past three years, and concession stand prices were dropped last year. Dowd said the team is considering charging $2 per vehicle for parking.

Authority members, however, were not enamored with the idea. Chairman Michael Jewell said he was concerned about potential traffic jams that plagued busy nights in the early years when parking fees were collected at the gates. He also feared that the stadium might need additional police to direct traffic — a cost the city bears under the lease.

Authority member Harry Jackson suggested the team consider adding $1 to the price of a general admission ticket this year to raise the needed revenue. Jackson speculated that fans would accept that fee more readily than a new parking charge.

Dowd said the team would consider the suggestion but said charging nominal fees for parking is so widely prevalent in sports and entertainment that Dodd Stadium is the rare sports venue that doesn't charge a parking fee.

c.bessette@theday.com


Norwich