Parks and Recreation Special Meeting (10)

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Parks and Recreation Commission Minutes Page 3 July 10, 2024 Chair Anderson asked Mr. Ellingworth if he would like to share how important this is and his involvement in the process. Mr. Ellingworth shared that the youth associations are very excited to have this concept plan in place. The data was gathered from surveys that were taken by the youth sports associations. They had a high participation rate because the associations are very passionate about getting their people involved so their voices can be heard. This plan reflects the majority of what they are asking and looking for. Long term, we do not have enough fields to let them rest and allow the grass to grow back so they are in good quality playing condition. Adding more rectangular fields will be vital to the associations and the community. Looking at other changes, the Dave Anderson Athletic Complex is a great location that is used for internal programming, such as soccer and youth baseball. At the Oak Knoll Athletic Complex, it would be beneficial to move the rectangular fields to the Plants and Things Recreation Complex so they are all in one spot, and then make Oak Knoll a baseball/softball complex. Adding a miracle field would be an awesome opportunity for individuals with disabilities. The addition of soccer/football/lacrosse fields at the PT Complex would provide associations their own home space. Fields 1-4 can be used for baseball and softball, fields 5 and 6 are only for baseball. The addition of four fields near the windmill would add more fields for softball and younger baseball. One of the biggest points of feedback we received from the associations is they really liked having a home space and designated spot they can play without being split up, especially for tournaments. We have a lot of local tournaments, but we are getting more requests to do tournaments from associations outside of Elk River. This project would be very important to the community because it has the impact to bring more people to the city if we can have more tournaments. He stated he receives compliments and emails from people that have attended tournaments so if we can continue to use this as our building block, Elk River would be very fortunate to have something like that and he believes the community, overall, would support that. This concept addressed the majority of what the associations are asking for. The biggest thing for two of the largest organizations, baseball, and softball, is they like the concept of having eight fields in one location for tournaments, which will allow them to have longer tournaments with more teams, which brings more people into the community. He shared the outline of the project is over ten years, and he thinks this would address the needs of the community and allow us to rest the fields. Our Parks Maintenance staff takes a lot of pride in taking care of the facilities and he knows that will continue. Commissioner Niziolek asked if we have specific numbers that shows how many people that go to Plants and Things Recreation Complex then make it into downtown Elk River. Mr. Stremcha shared our Economic Development Authority has data from Placer Ai and we can ask them to provide that. He shared that he has referenced it when utilizing it as a sponsorship incentive to reiterate this is the economic impact, we have in the area based on the user experience and cell phone data. Councilmember Beyer shared it is a very powerful tool and we were able to see the top spots that people went to before and after the section hockey games, which had thousands of people. Mr. Ellingworth shared people are staying at the fields longer and spending their money at the concession stand, which supports the youth organizations which they put the money right back into renting fields and field house, so it is a win, win. They may not go to a local restaurant, but they are supporting local youth organizations, which circulates back through the city. Commissioner Stewart asked if there are any projections for concession sales based on this plan and how it would impact our concession ability. Mr. Stremcha said we have considered ways of having concessions run through the city, but not in the immediate future. We have had vague brainstorming Page 7 of 72