Milford Starts Construction On New Fino Field Pool

MILFORD, MA — With outdoor pool season almost certainly behind us, Milford has broken ground on a construction project to build a new pool complex at Fino Field.

Town officials including Parks and Recreation Administrator Jim Asam, Highway Surveyor Scott Crisafulli, Town Administrator Richard Villani, Select Board member Michael Walsh and Parks Commission members Paul Braza and Joe Arcudi gathered at Fino Field Tuesday to pitch shovels into the ground, marking the official start of the long-anticipated project.

The Fino Field pool closed at the end of the 2019 season and didn't reopen in 2020 due to the pandemic, although plans for a rebuild were already brewing. Town Meeting in October 2021 approved funds for the project.

The rebuilt pool will retain and rebuild the lap-section of the facility. But a new shallow lagoon area will be built into the lap section to allow handicap swimmers to enter the pool. The new facility will also get a splash pad and a new bathroom and locker room building. Plans for the facility were approved over the summer by the Planning Board.

The pool's closure took its toll on local swimmers, with long lines seen at the state's Sen. P. Eugene Casey Memorial Swimming Pool, which was Milford's only outdoor pool after Fino Field closed.

But even if the air is a little chilly now, swimmers can get excited for the next swimming season: Asam said the plan is to get the new pool built and ready to open when the warm weather returns in 2024.