Softball games in Vicksburg are about to get a lot brighter.

Work crews this week are putting the finishing touches on installation of a new lighting system at City Park and Veterans Field. It’s the first time in almost two decades that new lights have been installed, and the improvements are part of a larger makeover for Vicksburg’s two adult softball fields.

“Those lights were extremely dim. It had become a safety factor for the players,” Vicksburg Parks and Recreation director Joe Graves said. “We needed to upgrade these lights. It had been a long time coming.”

Graves said the total cost of installing the new lights is about $220,000, or $110,000 for each field. The money will come from his department’s capital improvement budget.

Graves said the next phase of the project is to work on the fields themselves and put screens on the outfield fences, which are currently chain-link with no backdrop. That will cost roughly $6,000 and work will be done as funds become available.

“We’ll start on that after we finish with the lights. We may not be able to do it all at one time,” Graves said.

Thanks to a federal grant, the city will also begin the bid process for a new skateboard park in October.

“We’ll begin the design specs and bidding on that next month. If everything goes well, we’re hoping it can be finished by spring,” Graves said.

The Parks and Recreation Department sponsors four adult softball leagues that play at City Park and Veterans Field. In all, about 350 people participate. The fields also host several weekend tournaments throughout the year, and Graves said the new lights could help bring more out of town teams to Vicksburg.

“It’ll help us with the tournaments for adult softball. A lot of teams didn’t want to play here because of the safety issues,” Graves said. “We’ve been doing so much for the youth, with the other parks, and it was time for the adults to get some improvements.”