Sportsplex has room to grow: Managers
Rates for using the full field at Youngs Sportsplex will drop to $450 an hour from $600 an hour in an attempt to help cut the facility’s losses.
Spectra Venue Management regional general manager Dan Berger told city councillors heard Tuesday the rate change is just one item the company is looking at to turn around the facility, which runs deficits between $600,000 and $700,000.
The company took over management of the River Road sports complex in January of this year. Berger said a budget presented to council was a transitional one.
“What we found was that $600 was the published rate, but for 10 of the largest clients, there wasn’t consistent billing. Very few groups were being charged the actual rate.”
Berger said groups talk to each other and get angry when they learn not everyone is paying the same rate to use the fields.
While dropping the rates may seem counterintuitive, having standardized rates is a big deal for Berger and he believes rental revenue will actually increase.
Youngs Sportsplex, opened in 2012, is an “incredible facility” that’s consistent with the level of the more than 100 other facilities Spectra manages, Berger told councillors.
But, council heard, it has glaring deficiencies.
“One of the biggest changes we’re making is the orientation of the facility. We’re dividing the fields into thirds. I know it sounds a bit silly, but it’s the most common in our facilities.”
The change is being done to increase the number of groups that use Youngs Sportsplex, home to soccer, bubble soccer, softball, ultimate Frisbee, tennis and more.
Spectra, whose management fee is $75,000 a year, put $150,000 into the property to bring the second floor up to code, fixed the emergency lighting system, got the motion detection alarm system in working order and fixed other items as well, Berger said.
“That’s our contribution to the facility … $150,000 that won’t come back to us.”
Fixing viewing areas, covered by protective mesh, on the first and second floors are areas the company will look at.
Ward 3 Coun. John Chiocchio agreed there are sight line issues due to the mesh. He also said the lighting in the facility doesn’t pop, and added it is a little unwelcoming.
Chiocchio said changing little things like the lighting would have an effect on the facility.
Berger said Youngs Sportsplex is lacking in terms of lighting and said the mesh, designed to keep baseballs from hitting spectators, does kill the atmosphere in the building.
Baseball, he added, is an excellent tenant, but it, like the other sports, such as tennis, have room for growth
“There’s room for growth there … it’s (tennis) significantly underperforming right now. The facility is not operating at capacity and has room to expand.”
The second floor, at 10,000 square feet, could be leased out for office space, said Berger, adding traffic at the facility didn’t warrant investing in food services in the space.
“Food services would create a further loss. We have vending machines in for now.”