Nicholas Kaplanis Director of Recreation
Address:	7 East Hayestown Road Danbury, CT 06811
Telephone:	203-797-4632
FAX:	203-797-4634

Description
    The Parks and Recreation Department is essential to the maintenance and development of the City of Danbury’s extensive recreational and leisure grounds. Every time a player sets foot on a field, be it for a game or practice, they can be assured the sites have been carefully prepared to ensure optimum use of that facility, all due to the hard work of our dedicated Parks employees. Parks staff also maintains 101 other sites at public places and schools throughout the city.
    The Parks and Recreation Department sponsors several programs each year during the months of July and August, including Red Cross swimming lessons, which encompasses an Adaptive Swim Program for children with special needs, a four-week Summer Playground Program for elementary school students and a four-week Safe Summer Program for middle school students. These programs have given over 650 children in our community an opportunity to participate in summer fun and learning while enjoying many of Danbury’s recreational facilities.
    The City of Danbury has 1,326 acres designated for park and recreational use distributed as follows: 186 acres of City parks, 256 acres of natural resource areas, and 884 acres of special use parks. The Parks & Recreation Department uses 15 schools for playgrounds/ball fields, which accounts for 55 acres.

Accomplishments
    The opening of the new Stephen A Kaplanis Memorial Stadium adjacent to Broadview Middle School will provide a state of the art facility which will be the new home field for Danbury’s Pop Warner Football programs as well as providing a venue for Boys and Girl’s Lacrosse, Field Hockey, Flag Football and Soccer. Rogers Park Playground and Highland Ave Park have brand new sprayparks which provide children of all ages with an alternative way to cool off during the hot summer months. Landscaping projects at Candlewood Town Park and Kenosia Town Park have accented their aesthetic beauty and are ideal places for a family picnic. The Recreation Department, in partnership with Danbury Children First also sponsored Recreational Baseball for boys and girls with special needs between the ages of 9-11 to play in a non-competitive environment.
    Each year the Recreation Department contributes financial support to the many non-profit organizations that sponsor a variety of athletic activities offered to all the children in Danbury. This includes: PAL Wrestling, Boys and Girls Basketball, Girls Softball, Field Hockey and Swimming, Danbury Youth Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth Baseball, DAYO Trojans Football/ Cheerleading, T-Ball, Flag Football, Middle School Basketball, Boys and Girls Lacrosse, Women’s Softball, HCYS Vikings Football/Cheerleading/Dance and Elementary School Basketball. In addition, grant money is given to the Danbury Westerners Collegiate Baseball Team.
    The Department expects to make strides towards expanding recreational opportunities for residents with disabilities, young children and senior citizens. In addition, the Department will focus it’s attention to integrating our diverse young population in public and private programs.