By Suzzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer

Kennebunk-Kennebunkport Youth Fields Association has the land, the permits and the plan, but no money to build the fields.
Now the association is stepping up efforts to raise money to build four athletic fields next to Kennebunk Elementary School.
“We were waiting until we had all our ducks in a row,” said KKYFA member Sheryl Burns.
The group hopes to raise more funds by selling $25 tickets to its “Dance Away The Winter Blues” fundraiser Saturday at the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. The event includes live classic rock music by “Too Far North,” a silent auction and hors d’ oeuvres. All proceeds will go to the Field of Dreams project.
The $2.2 million Field of Dreams project will turn 10 acres of land into two regulation turf soccer and lacrosse fields and two Little League fields, one for baseball and one for softball. So far, the association has raised $100,000 by selling signs on the fields and donations from members and businesses
Walking trails and a field house with concessions, storage and an athletic classroom are also included in the plan.
In 2004 Kennebunk residents voted to build an elementary school and earmarked $50,000 to research the feasibility of putting in an athletic field.
The school district offered to lease the land to the soccer club at a cost of $1 for 99 years as long as the group did all the work to install the fields. Larry Gassman, then president of the soccer club, took the project to the youth football, soccer, baseball and lacrosse clubs in the area. All but youth football decided to help participate in the project.
In 2007 KKYFA, led by Gassman, formed from parents in the youth clubs. The group used the $50,000 town contribution to bring in CMA engineers of Kennebunk to design the four fields, make sure the field permits were in order and keep some money for land tax.
More than 800 children are involved in the youth athletic clubs in Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. Limited fields in the area create problems scheduling games for the large number of children.
Burns says while the current fields aren’t in bad shape, new fields will allow more games and even tournaments to come to the Kennebunks.
“The fields can bring in revenue for the town through youth tournaments,” Burns said.
Burns also said tournaments can bring in revenues for the towns’ restaurants and hotels.
The project has two phases. The first phase includes one turf soccer and lacrosse field and one little league baseball field with outfield fencing modeled after Fenway Park’s “Green Monster.” Also included in the first phase is the field house, lighting and roadway to the park.
Burns said lighting will feature a remote device so board members of the KKYFA can turn off the lights from their homes instead of running down to the fields after a tournament or late practice.
The second phase will include the other two fields as well as the walking trails, bleachers and the dugouts for the baseball fields.
According the KKYFA Web site, each phase will take around four to six months to complete.
The project won’t start until at least 75 percent of the money has bee raised, but funds have been slow coming in and while Burns said teams hope to break ground soon, there is no definite time frame.
Up until this point, KKYFA has only held awareness programs. In May, a sports clinic and tours of the property were held at the elementary school and in the fall an outdoor movie played in the open field.
Saturday’s silent auction includes Celtics tickets, University of Maine hockey tickets, use of a vacation home in Bridgton for a weekend, gift certificates and more.
“We’re here, we’re not going away. All we need is to collect money,” Burns said.
 For more information on the fields or to purchase tickets to “Dance Away The Winter Blues,” go to www.youthfields.org.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.