Public/Private plan alluring
A city landmark may get a much needed – and necessary – overhaul if a new concept advocated by the administration of Mayor Dorinda Borer is successful. Two weeks ago, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was posted by the city for the rehabilitation of Quigley Stadium. This is an incredibly positive step for an historic site and leads to possibilities – and some speculation – as to where it might lead.
Quigley Stadium was built and opened in 1947 as a home for the West Haven Sailors, a member of the Connecticut State League at a time when semi-professional teams played for many cities and towns. Teams like the Waterbury Brasscos and Meriden Insilcos (highlighting the industries that anchored those municipalities) were part of the league.
The Sailors, owned by tavern-owner Maurice “Mo” Quigley was looking for a new home for his team, and found one in Allingtown. The Sailors played at Donovan Field and like many teams played to packed crowds in an era before television took over, and major league sports were dominant. The new Municipal Stadium would seat about 4,000 and was designed specifically for baseball with stand wrapping around the diamond ending just past first and third base. It had something else: lights. This offered the possibility of night games for a team that played mostly on weekends.
The State League as many industrial leagues did. The post-war boom saw spectators finding other ways to spend their leisure time and crowds dwindled. When not in use as a baseball venue, Municipal Stadium operated as a football venue for West Haven High and Notre Dame, which opened its doors in 1946. In 1960, the city honored Quigley by naming the stadium after its biggest proponent.
The AA Eastern League West Haven Yankees and later the White Caps were residents of the stadium during the 1970s, but the ballpark was substandard to more modern venues, and the teams moved away. Though popular at the outset with large crowds, fans lost interest in the team when won-lost records were poor.
In the subsequent years, the stadium had more than one rehab, putting in new sod, eventually tearing down the ancient stands, and putting in a single bleacher. The Quigley Stadium Commission, which was a separate operating department budgetarily, was disbanded and the park came under the supervision of the Department of Public Works, which had, in turn, taken over park maintenance from the Department of Parks and Recreation in a streamlining effort.
For assorted reasons, the stadium went into a period of neglect and disrepair, though an effort was made to give it another facelift. This newspaper chastised city officials in 2020 for allowing the stadium to become a “cow pasture” with weeds growing where grass once was. This caused some improvements, but the stadium needed more.
This new idea of a public-private partnership is one that can be beneficial not only to the park, but to the surrounding area. Front Avenue is full of neglect and needs an overhaul. A public-private effort can upgrade the stadium, while improving the surrounding area. Such an effort has proved successful with the partnership between the city and Orange-based baseball academy, The Grind. The academy is working to improve Morse Park’s Little League fields for youth tournaments. So far, the improvements made have been remarkable.
There is talk – just talk – that the University of New Haven needs to upgrade its own facilities now it has gone to NCAA Division I competition. That has sparked speculation such a partnership is a vehicle for just such a move to the Front Avenue facility. Again, such talk has been around for more than two decades, and only time will tell how this develops.
Quigley Stadium, like any city asset, should be preserved and maintained. Neglect has taken place and major improvements must be made. An innovation, such as a public-private partnership might be just the means to a successful end.