Since 1997, the Indian River Sports Complex has been serving those who choose to spend time on the fields, courts, or even in the recreation building. Indian River has three grass fields, a baseball field, basketball courts, and a recreation building. There are also trails throughout the entire complex, for those who just want to take a stroll.
To further upgrade this complex, in 2011 on the top field, a turf field replaced grass to help benefit athletes. According to the document from Stadia Engineering Associates INC., they also decided to replace the heavily used grass field to turf in order to maintain excellent field conditions throughout the different seasons, for year round use. The overall cost for the new installation of the turf, plus expanding the bleacher space, was around $985,000.
Controversy ensued because the enlarged husky mascot displayed in the center of the turf resembled the UConn Husky Mascot. In 2012, Stan Fisher from New Haven Register published UConn wants Clinton’s Morgan School to change Husky logo. Once it was brought to the attention of UConn, they had asked Clinton to change the style of the mascot. When this issue was brought to the student’s attention, everyone decided to take action, and Morgan Alums Lucas Edwards and Emma Wentworth wrote The New Husky: Morgan’s Logo to spread the news. Morgan eventually redesigned its Husky mascot and replaced almost everything with the old UConn-like husky. One of the main problems was the newly added turf. In the article, Fisher explains the entire controversy, from the very beginning. UConn’s
Athletic Spokesman Michael Wright explained how since it would be a bigger and much more expensive project to change the logo on the turf, “It’s whenever the turf needs to be replaced. We’re not looking for them to spend $20,000 on it.”
Fast-forward over a decade later, the turf is being replaced with or without the inclusion of the husky.
Robert Potter, mostly known as Bo, is the Director at our Parks and Recreation program here in Clinton. Parks and Recreation runs many of the town sports programs from K-8th grade. They deal with many public works projects, and run the Indian River Complex, where the turf field is situated. Bo said that the plan for the new turf replacement has been a long process. With the official closing of the turf for winter, starting the first week of December, the tearing up the turf will begin. He said, “The hope is that it should take around 3 weeks to finish the completed turf, though weather does come into play.” It should hopefully take 1–2 months to completely finish everything, and be ready to reopen for the spring.
There will be no more Husky on the new turf because it is too expensive. Instead of a Husky, “it is going to just have a circle with nothing in it, and the word Clinton twice around the outside, one facing the bleachers and the other facing the press booth,” but besides that, the turf will only have all the different colored lines for the different sports. With the lines, the color variants will be mostly the same, but the line for the layout will be navy blue instead of yellow to match our town’s colors. Another reason for no more Husky and “Clinton” instead, is it will match the track at Ethel Peters
Recreation Complex behind the Lewin G. Joel Elementary School.
Bo mentions how “we got 15 years out of our current turf, so we are expecting the new one to be just like it, if not better.” Bo’s other hopes for our town’s renovations after the turf are new bleachers at Peter’s Complex, new scoreboards, and renovated bathrooms and beach house facility at the Clinton Town Beach.
Bo has strong hopes and ideas for this town that he wants to fulfill for all the athletes and residents of Clinton.
