Services > Recreation Commission
The Andover Recreation Committee is concerned with recreational opportunities for both adults and children of the Andover community. Traditional activities include Highland Lake's beachfront facilities and swimming lessons provided there.
More recently the Committee has been busy, over a period of several years, steadily making improvements to the field at Blackwater Park and to Corson Field behind the Elementary/Middle School. Some of these improvements have been specifically safety oriented; such as installing protective caps on the fence at the Blackwater Field, while others have targeted safety as well as functional improvements. The infield at Corson Field has been totally rehabilitated, drainage installed, and the scoreboard relocated for easier access. New dugouts have been started at this field as well, needing only roofs for completion. Second infields have been created at both fields to increase the capacity for practice time for baseball and softball teams. Most of this work has been completed using volunteer labor and donated materials.
In September of 2002, the water district commissioners asked the town and school to make plans to discontinue using treated water from the district for irrigation purposes. A first step in that direction and a major accomplishment this summer was the installation of a new irrigation system at Corson Field and connecting it to the existing system at Blackwater Park. Phase two will be to engineer and install a pumping system to utilize the river as the water source.
Another project on the drawing boards is to construct a building at Blackwater Park large enough to be used by all of the town's sports teams for storage, have bathroom facilities and also have space to operate a snack bar or other fundraising projects.
To make these last two goals a reality, we need your help. We understand that your time is limited and not everyone can come out, roll up their sleeves, and spend the amount of time needed to complete these projects. So we are hoping to raise $25,000 through donations over the next two years. The money will be used to supplement anticipated additional donations of labor, materials and equipment to install the pumping system and construct the storage building.
Thank you in advance for your support of Andover youth athletics and I hope to see you cheering on our teams! Tax deductible donations can be mailed to Andover Recreation Fund, c/o Town of Andover, PO Box 61, Andover, NH 03216.
