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22 ATHLETIC FIELDS STUDY <br />City of Elk River, Minnesota DRAFT <br />IMPLEMENTATION <br />PRIORITIZATION <br />When developing prioritization, actions can be evaluated by how <br />they improve the City’s system of athletic fi elds: <br />Does the action have positive safety implications? <br />The highest priority for the City should be actions that improve <br />safety outcomes. This includes things like netting, fi eld <br />maintenance, and provision of AEDs at fi elds. <br />Does the action improve capacity and address current or projected needs? <br />Actions such as the addition of lights and building new fi elds add <br />capacity to the system. The more recent addition of lights at YAC <br />have improved the capacity at those fi elds. An expansion at YAC <br />would have similar impacts. <br />Does the action strengthen the City’s operations and capacity for <br />funding? <br />Actions that create improvements for maintenance and operations <br />should be prioritized. The City has opted to consolidate fi elds in designated athletic facilities, rather than <br />dispersed around the community. The focus remains on providing fi elds in larger, consolidated locations <br />where maintenance can be streamlined and more effi cient. Other actions may strengthen the City’s <br />abilities to recruit and host tournaments (and increase fi eld rentals) or better position the City to pursue <br />other funding such as grants. <br />Does the action improve equitable distribution of resources between sports? <br />The City has done a great job of improving facilities for many of the youth athletic associations. If there are <br />sports that have not seen upgrades in some time, the priority should go to these sports over those that <br />have seen recent improvements and investments. <br />Does the action improve user experiences? <br />Elk River’s facilities provide varied user experiences. Upgrades at the YAC ballfi elds have been well <br />received, while a lack of toilets on the rectangle fi eld side or at DAAC remain a point of contention. <br />Elements such as appropriately sized fi elds, batting cages, shaded viewing areas, concessions, storage, <br />and parking go a long way to improving user experience. <br />TIMING <br />The study provides recommendations for the City of Elk River based on the identifi ed needs and desires <br />of the City and athletic associations. Some of these recommendations are easier to implement, others will <br />take some time to identify funding, design, and bring to fruition. Lastly, some of the recommendations <br />focus on strategy and programming and represent ongoing eff orts that are already underway.