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4 ATHLETIC FIELDS STUDY <br />City of Elk River, Minnesota <br />INTRODUCTION/STUDY PURPOSE <br />The City of Elk River is recognized for its progressive park system, providing a wide range of passive <br />and active recreation experiences for residents and visitors alike. Within the city’s parks, Elk River <br />boasts a number of exceptional athletic facilities that have long supported the community and <br />hosted many of the community’s youth as they participated in sports. These are the facilities that <br />have served as the backdrop for many residents’ life lessons and lifelong memories. <br />Elk River has a commitment to ensuring that the people who live and visit the city have access to <br />safe, quality fi elds. As a city “Powered by Nature” and focused on being a great place to live, athletic <br />facilities are one of the important elements of the community. The city also knows that the whole <br />community benefi ts when the youth have the positive infl uences associated with playing sports: <br />exercise, teamwork, dedication, confi dence, friends, and fun. <br />THIS STUDY <br />The City of Elk River is in the <br />process of updating and addressing <br />many of the athletics and park <br />needs in the community. The past <br />few years have seen signifi cant <br />investment in the Furniture and <br />Things Community Event Center <br />multipurpose facility, and the <br />John Barth Softball Fields at Lion <br />John Weicht Park. ISD 728 School <br />District has recently upgraded <br />many of their facilities as well at Elk <br />River High School and the middle <br />schools. At the same time, many <br />of the fi eld sports are at facilities <br />that were built 20-30 years ago or <br />longer, when population was much <br />smaller and needs were diff erent. <br />This study considers the current <br />context of fi eld sports in Elk River <br />and the future trends aff ecting <br />athletics and population to provide <br />an approach to maintaining and <br />expanding facilities through 2035. <br />This study’s process drew from <br />three main sources: <br />• The City of Elk River’s fi rst-hand <br />experiences, policies, and fi eld <br />use data <br />• Surveys with user groups <br />• Consultant review of data, <br />demographic projections, level <br />of service standards, facility <br />evaluations, and current trends <br />in athletic facilities <br />YOUTH SPORTS <br />The city’s youth programs are strong, with Elk River Youth Athletics (ERYA) leading the <br />off erings in the community. Various Elk River youth athletic organizations provide a <br />range of competition levels across diff erent age ranges. The sports off ered include: <br />• Baseball <br />• Softball <br />• Football (fl ag and tackle) <br />• Lacrosse <br />Elk River families that participate in soccer are typically doing so through a regional club <br />such as Boreal FC that serves players across the northern suburbs. <br />Following an initial decline after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, participation <br />numbers have rebounded well and are anticipated to continue to strengthen. <br />SCHOOL SPORTS <br />Outdoor athletics through the schools occur at the high school level. Elk River High <br />School underwent extensive renovations in 2021 to improve the conditions at the play <br />and practice fi elds. <br />Elk River High School has a number of dedicated fi eld spaces with priority in the <br />afternoons after school lets out. While some youth athletic programming occurs on <br />these fi elds, they understandably have second priority after school needs, such as <br />games and practices. Games especially are more likely to run later into the evening and <br />bump youth sports. <br />ADULT <br />Adult softball does continue to utilize the Dave Anderson Athletic Complex. As <br />participation numbers have declined signifi cantly, the future of adult slow pitch softball <br />in the community is in question. The number of teams and the number of nights has <br />fallen off . <br />There are American Legion and VFW summer baseball teams in town. These teams <br />typically utilize Hale’s Field, which is a school district facility. <br />TOURNAMENTS/TRAINING <br />From time to time, the facilities are also utilized by outside groups and schools, whether <br />that is for tournaments, camps, training, or other events. These are typically scheduled <br />around the youth athletic organizations programming that have priority. Tournaments <br />are an important economic development opportunity for communities and one of the <br />ways associations fundraise to keep participant prices down.