City to expand summer program to Danbury Sports Dome
DANBURY — The city’s summer camp program will be longer, more affordable, and hopefully more exciting this year with a lift from a newly announced partnership with the Danbury Sports Dome.
Citing declining enrollment numbers in recent years, even before COVID-19, Mayor Dean Esposito told City Council members attending a budget workshop earlier this month of the planned partnership that would effectively outsource the programming to the dome.
The Danbury Sports Dome is an indoor multisport and special event complex billing itself online
as, “the East Coast’s largest domed facility,” according to its website.
“They are looking to
move forward to a longer day and more weeks, so it gives those parents an opportunity, and also it
gives the children a much better opportunity to be out…,” Mayor Dean Esposito said.
Under the new model, a wider range of activities beyond the sports realm will be offered compared to the city’s previous summer camp iterations, the idea being to make the camp experience out to, “be more than us just basically babysitting them,” said Danbury Finance Director David St. Hilaire.
“The options are there to do all different stuff besides just sports,” the mayor added.
Other changes mean longer days for campers will be offered over a period of seven week-long sessions instead of three, with the indoor facilities provided at the location meaning poor weather won’t cancel a day of camp.
For the city, the move means the city’s finance and human resources departments will not need to administer or hire any staff for the summer camp, added Esposito, who said he hopes it will a positive for the campers, too.
The change was officially announced on Wednesday afternoon, with the mayor thanking the Danbury Sports Dome for its partnership.
“Now more than ever, we must provide the vital resources for our children to excel, and this approach will take our summer camps to the next level,” Esposito said in a statement. “Sports provide an excellent training in leadership and teamwork that is needed to create a strong foundation in every child’s life.”
The first week of camp begins June 20 with the final week starting Aug. 1. Enrollment is limited to 250 campers per week. Parents can reserve spaces on “first come, first served” basis and for multiple weeks at a cost of $100 per week, per camper, at www.danburysportsdome.com