By Kim J. Harmon

There was a bit of spring in the air late last week and with memories of the 2001 World Series still fresh in the minds of many people (especially fans of the New York Yankees), what better time is there to take a closer look at the nearly finished ball fields off Elm Drive?

On 13 acres of the old Amaral property and in the shadow of the Newtown Village Cemetery, two new baseball fields – in the crux between Elm Drive and Deepbrook Road – await first pitch in the spring of 2002.

In a joint effort between the Newtown Public Works Department and Deering Construction, the new ball fields (tagged as Liberty Field)  will end up costing the town about $1.3 million – which includes the original $400,000 used to purchase the property five years ago. The money to purchase the property came from the town’s Iroquois Land Preservation and Enhancement Program funds.

Although the project has proved to be troublesome, especially with the construction of two retaining walls, one of those retaining walls – stretching from right field all the way to center field on the lower diamond – may end up being as identifiable to the field as the Green Monster is to Fenway Park in Boston.

And while there is still some work to be completed – the maintenance shed was still being shingled on Friday afternoon – the new sod is down, the base paths and mound have been carved into the fields, and all the fencing and backstops are up.

Everything looked ready to go.

First pitch – less than five months from now.