Sports

New Wesley Bishop Field Ready for Coming-Out Party

Township manager Scott Carew says the field will be open—at least temporarily—for this weekend's big lacrosse festival.

CLARIFICATION: The projected revenue figures from sponsorships provided by some of the township sports clubs last year no longer apply, since the township is running the sponsorship program.

The field sponsorship program is separate from the commitments made by the sports organizations to help the township pay down debt for capital recreation projects, according to township manager Scott Carew.  

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About six months after it began its transformation into a turf field, the lower field at Wesley Bishop North is expected to be open for business—if only temporarily—this weekend, just in time for the Moorestown Lacrosse Club's (MLC) annual festival

Township manager Scott Carew said the field itself has been ready for some time, but there's still construction work going on around it, so it hasn't been reopened. He said the paving of the parking lot is nearly finished, and should be ready for this weekend's tournament.

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The field will be open for the tournament Saturday, but closed Sunday while crews continue to put the finishing touches on it. 

In other recreation news, the township has already received a number of applications for field banners following council's official adoption of the field sponsorship program last week.

Carew wasn't sure of the exact number of applicants, but said some of the sports clubs had interested sponsors already lined up before the program was adopted.

The banners, which go for $400 a pop ($600 for the turf fields at Wesley Bishop North), will be hung on the outfield and sideline fences at five township parks (Fullerton, Pryor, Lenola Road and Wesley Bishop North and South). Carew said he thinks the township could sell between 80-100 banners this year, "and this is only half a year."

There are a total of 128 banners available. 

(Check out the attached PDF to see a copy of the application, including maps of where the banners will be located.)

The banner program could be expanded in subsequent years to include other recreation areas, such as the street hockey rink at Wesley Bishop. The township intentionally didn't go as big with the program this year as it could have, Carew explained.

"We want to keep it somewhat measured the first year, and not go crazy and make our expectations too high," he said. 

The field naming rights will take a little longer to roll out since they have to go out to bid, he explained, and also because, unlike the banners, which are seasonal, the naming rights are multi-year, so "there's no rush to, say, get them out in May as opposed to August." 

Carew said he hopes to have the naming program ready to go out for bid in the next four to six weeks. 

Revenue from the sponsorship program will be split 50/50 between the township and sports clubs to be held in a “recreation trust account” and used for maintenance and improvements, as well as paying down the debt service for existing and future major recreation capital projects.

Previously, the Moorestown Youth Baseball Federation (MYBF) and the MLC , respectively.


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