With Little League season swiftly approaching, renovation of the baseball field at Mansfield Park was recently completed. According to Thomas Dorsa, vice president of the Massapequa International Little League, the initial proposal to upgrade the field was made by the mayor and Village Board of Massapequa Park.

Extensive renovations included a grading of the playing area and the laying of brand new sod, as well as the elimination of any areas where large puddles would form after significant rainfall. "[Before the renovations], on the benches where the kids would be sitting, you'd have a foot of water in some spots. They raised everything up and the drainage is much better now," Dorsa said.

The improvements were completed in two to three months, and in the coming season the field will be used by scores of children in the Massapequa Little League. "We have two or three divisions that will be there, including a girls' softball program and a 9-year-old division of upwards of 100 kids," Dorsa said. "We'll also have some 10 and 11-year-olds who play there, so anywhere from 200 to 300 kids will be using the new field."

As for financing the project, the Little League made a donation to the village to defray some of the costs of renovation, and the Village determined the rest. "Additionally," Dorsa said, "I think something should be said about the village employees who did the actual work. They did a spectacular job."

"Our league has grown in numbers, and we've more than doubled over the past seven years," Dorsa continued. "We've gone from 550 children in 1995 to 1,300 children now, and we're always looking for fields. Any field of this quality is a gem. It's something we can show the other towns that come in to play us. It's a showpiece."