Nighttime Games Coming Soon to Bill Botts Field

Soccer and baseball games at Bill Botts Sports Field will no longer have to end at dusk. Long-awaited lights are being installed, thanks to Culver City's with nighttime games beginning in mid-August.

The Junior/Senior League field, a shared space for both the soccer team and the Little League, is getting six light poles with eight light structures each. 

"One of our main problems with only having one field is that scheduling stuff is hard. Lights for us will make scheduling so much easier," said Shannon Bradley, vice president of the Culver City Little League. "The lights will allow us to host all-star tournaments, because it gives us more scheduling flexibility. Night games are phenomenal. They make the kids feel like they're in the big leagues."

According to many parents, the project has been on the community wish list for a long time.

"We've been trying to get the lights there for years, and it finally came through. The kids will be able to play at night and not just during the day," said George Aceves, president of Culver City Little League.

Although construction has been swift--beginning in July—the fight for lights began in 2004, when Culver City's Parks and Recreation Commission sent a letter of support and an application for the project to the state's Parks and Recreation Department. The City Soccer Club, the local American Youth Soccer Organization and the Echo Horizon School also participated in the application process.

The $305,000 grant for the project was awarded in 2005, but the lights were in the design stage from 2005 to 2008.  

Then the state of California froze the grant money for all park projects in late 2008, with the funds thawing out only three months ago.

Regarding the delay, Public Works Department engineer Sammy Romo--who is managing the light project--said there were several engineering and technical matters that his staff had to consider before beginning construction.  

Although parents and players are excited about the new lights, some say there is more work to be done. 

The lights only begin to meet the needs of the town's youth sports, says AYSO coach and manager Charles Doff, because unlike Beverly Hills and Santa Monica, Culver City does not have specific fields for each sport. 

"If we can come up with dedicated fields with lights, it would work better for Culver City sports programs," said Doff, who also works with the Little League. "Right now in Culver City, the AYSO has to play soccer on our baseball field, which creates a battle between us and AYSO. We would like more help from the city."