Norwich — On many upcoming summer days, there will be two baseball teams calling the Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium home, and no matter what happens on the field of play, leaders of the Norwich Sea Unicorns and Mystic Schooners say the community at large will be the winners.

Mystic Schooners co-owner and pitching coach Dennis Long announced last week that the Schooners reached a deal with the Sea Unicorns to play home games at Dodd Stadium, moving from the field at Fitch High School. Both teams are summer wooden bat collegiate teams, but play in different leagues with different schedules.

Sea Unicorns newly named general manager Lee Walter said Thursday the late arrangement — made after both the Schooners’ New England Collegiate Baseball League and the Sea Unicorns’ Futures Collegiate Baseball League schedules were set — came together surprisingly well.

The Sea Unicorns will have 32 home games at Dodd, and the Schooners will have 22 games. The Sea Unicorns' home opening day will be Memorial Day, May 30, with fireworks after the game. The Schooners’ home opener will be Tuesday, June 7.

Walter said he and Sea Unicorns consultant Jay Miller were considering reaching out to Schooners co-owners Long and Don Benoit to discuss the possibility, and before they did, the Schooners came calling. Long and Miller, a longtime executive in minor league and Major League Baseball, have mutual acquaintances.

“We started talking about it, and they expressed to us the desire to upgrade their facility,” Walter said. “They were looking to take their organization to the next level. For us, it’s a love of baseball and the desire to see both organizations succeed and keep Dodd Stadium busy all summer.”

The Sea Unicorns have a lease with the city of Norwich for the city-owned stadium through this summer, with options for each of the following years. The team is the master tenant, with the ability to rent the stadium during baseball season for other events.

“It’s such a great facility, we want to utilize it more,” Miller said. “Everyone’s intent is to enjoy the value of the stadium. We’ll put some fresh paint on it, and we just want to play baseball.”

The Sea Unicorns are making several off-season maintenance upgrades and improvements to the 1995 stadium, including replacing aged original carpet in the skyboxes, replacing decking in the picnic area, cutting down overgrown bushes at the left field foul line and removing expired sponsorship signs, which they hope to replace with new sponsor billboards.

Walter said many business details still need to be worked out for the shared arrangement with the Schooners.

There will be some days when both teams will play home games, with the Schooners playing in the early afternoon and the host Sea Unicorns at night. The games will be separate admission doubleheaders, with possible incentives for the daytime crowd to return for the night game, Walter said. On some Sundays, the Sea Unicorns will need to adjust their start times, he said.

The Sea Unicorns have an array of full and partial season ticket packages and varying seating prices for premium box seats, reserved seats and grandstand bench seating. The Schooners will have single-price, general admission tickets.

Familiar Dodd Stadium staff will work Sea Unicorns games. Schooners staff and some Sea Unicorns staff will be working at Schooners games. The Schooners will be responsible for their ticket sales, likely using the Dodd Stadium ticket booth.

For souvenirs, the Schooners will set up tents or tables on the concourse, rather than sharing the Sea Unicorns gift shop.

The biggest concern is avoiding extra wear and tear on the playing field, Walter said. The Sea Unicorns grounds crew will be in charge of the field, with help from Schooners staff during their games. Walter said he is in touch with the company that supplies fertilizer and lawn treatment chemicals to ensure the field remains in good condition. He said Schooners staff have offered to assist with securing any additional materials needed.

As for the teams on the field, Walter said there was no competition there, either. “Thankfully, there are a lot of college players in the area,” he said. “We’ll have no issues filling out rosters. Both rosters were virtually done by the time this started.”

Both teams seek to sign college baseball players from throughout the Northeast and beyond. Walter said the Sea Unicorns already have verbal commitments from 35 players, with contracts to come in spring. The Schooners already have listed 28 players on the team roster.

“It’s not a competition between the Sea Unicorns and the Schooners,” Walter said, echoing a comment made by Long last week. “It’s great for baseball in the community, and it’s great for the community.”

c.bessette@theday.com