Could Infinity Fields, formerly known as 5 Diamonds, soon have the ability to sell alcohol on its facility in the Town of Waukesha?
That's an option the Town of Waukesha Board will consider as an amended plan of operation is being brought before the board at its meeting Thursday night.
The Plan Commission, which meets first at 6:30 p.m., will discuss and possibly make a recommendation to the board.
If approved, selling fermented malt beverages, as it's listed in the amended plan of operation, would be subject to the petitioner applying for and obtaining a Class “B” Liquor License from the Town of Waukesha.
The site's plan of operation currently says "a liquor license is not available for the property and shall follow Waukesha School District policy for drugs, alcohol and tobacco use."
The owners, Tom Kelenic and Greg Beatty, had previously said when the facility opened in 2012 that the site wouldn't serve alcohol.
The owners of the youth baseball and softball complex, which sits on 31.86 acres of land, are also looking at changing the closing time of the facility from 10:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
The hours of operation have extended since the park, located on West Les Paul Parkway on Highway 59, opened two years ago. The town board, in 2012, said the lights had to be turned off by 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and by 7 p.m. on Sunday.
But the board last summer changed the plan of operation for the facility allowing it to stay open until 10:30 p.m. after a request for longer hours was made by the owners. However, that request, which has to be approved by Waukesha County, has not been submitted by the town.
In addition, the owners are looking at removing a clause in the plan of operation that says they can only use voice amplification for three fundraising opportunities during the year.
Originally, voice amplification was banned from the development but the board granted the owners’ request to use a sound system during charitable events the facility hosts.
The town’s planner is in support of the change in hours but instead of removing the voice amplification condition, he suggests keeping it in just for special events and fundraisers without a limit.
The owners of the facility and members of the previous town board clashed on a number of issues relating to the complex, including its lights, noise and the owners not following the plan of operation.
The $2 million project was first proposed in 2010 and owners broke ground in the summer of 2011 amid pushback from neighbors.
The owners, however, said the neighbors' claims are "petty" and say that a facility with countless benefits should not be seen with such backlash. Owners also previously cited harassment from neighbors for taking videos of children playing if games run long.
As a result, the owners sought annexation into the city of Waukesha in late 2012. But after two-thirds of the council didn't vote in favor of the request, the annexation wasn't approved.
The Waukesha Blazers organization and Catholic Memorial High School are the primary tenants of the facility. Tournaments, which draw teams from across the Midwest and state, are also played there.
Both the Plan Commission and Town Board meetings are held at Town Hall, W250 S3567 Center Road.