The lacrosse practice wall planned for Sprague Field behind the facilities building remains in the planning stage, with the latest word out of the Wellesley Department of Public Works being that the structure might be slightly less wide than originally planned and feature a gravel base rather than turf.

Update (10.30.22): More developments were shared during the Oct. 25 School Committee meeting.

The Wellesley Zoning Board of Appeals voted in May to amend a special permit issued in 2008 that paves the way for a practice wall to go on School Committee property. Discussion of a potential rebound wall for lacrosse and other sports has been bouncing around since at least mid-2018 (See “Wait, that Wellesley lacrosse wall plan is still bouncing around?”)

Town Engineer Dave Hickey shared a brief update with the Playing Fields Task Force on Oct. 14 (about 45 minutes into the Wellesley Media recording), noting that pricing has been “refreshed” and referring to a possible shortening of the wall to allow for a bathroom to be located near it.

We’ve seen price estimates for the wall rise over the years, with initial references to it being a $20K-$30K project, then up to a $30K-$50K project, and then possibly $80K. With prices for just about everything on the rise, the team working on the wall is considering a gravel rather than turf surface for athletes.

While that might sound kind of rough, the Playing Fields Task Force’s boys’ lacrosse rep Jerry Nigro points to DeFazio Park in Needham’s lacrosse wall, which has a gravel surface. “It gets a lot of use and seems to work just fine through winter and spring,” he said, adding that Wellesley could start with gravel and consider turf down the road.

No timeframe was given for when the Wellesley wall might actually be constructed.