State of the PAAC
Complex draws tournaments, visitors and $615K in revenue
Eight months after opening, the Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex is still receiving a lot of attention. “Quite a few” baseball promoters have heard about the 50-acre facility and have been touring it.
Debbie Wendt, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said a multiplex athletic facility had been the community’s dream for more than two decades.
Known as the PAAC (pronounced “pack”), it opened to great fanfare on Sept. 1 at 1700 E. 8th St. Wendt noted that “the PAAC has made a huge impact on the Yuma community and surrounding businesses since its gates opened.”
To date, an estimated 65,500 people have walked through the gates, bringing in an estimated $614,876 in revenues during tournament weekends alone.
“The PAAC has impacted thousands of people recreationally and continues to be a huge economic impact to the community,” according to a city report.
Residents and visitors have enjoyed it in various ways, playing in a league, participating in a tournament, being a spectator or having a picnic in the adjacent park area.
“Recreational and leisure opportunities have increased, and the thousands of PAAC visitors have improved business for historic downtown, retail establishments, and the hospitality industry in Yuma,” the report noted.
The site is close to Historic Downtown Yuma, Yuma Palms shopping center, restaurants and many hotels. All are within a 1 to 1½ mile radius from the complex, and it’s walking distance from three major parks. It connects to the East Wetlands walk and biking trails along the Colorado River.
The economic impact to the local businesses translates to increased revenue collection of the city sales tax, 2 percent hospitality tax, and rental opportunities at the facility. For those wanting to picnic at the PAAC, there are six ramadas at the edge of the pond with lights, picnic tables and grills. These are available on a first first-come basis, or if someone wants to make sure they can use them, reservations can be made through Parks and Rec at 928-373-5200.
Yuma city officials chose the site for its accessibility, near Interstate 8, hoping that it would draw in tourists, but they also hoped the amenities would attract year-round leagues, tournaments and special events for youth and adults.
The biggest amenity is that the PAAC has six lighted fields, including one for championship games. It is also within 10 miles of five other major sports complexes with a total of 10 fields for play.
Before the PAAC, the limited number of athletic fields also limited the number of games and/or tournaments that could be played. Yuma needed more fields so youth co-sponsored sports programs could expand and have a place to play with four or more fields located all in one place.
Prior to the construction of the PAAC, every month the city turned down dozens of requests from youth teams because there weren’t enough fields for practice. Since the PAAC’s opening, no requests have been denied. Rather, youth baseball has expanded from 46 teams to 60 teams.
Benefits include having six fields in one location rather than spread out across town. Parents can now stay at one site to watch all of their children play, Wendt noted.
The city’s big goal was to attract more tournaments; this goal is being achieved. The city has added 16 new tournaments to its annual schedule to date, which previously averaged only 12 per year.
In addition, the city added one men’s league and one co-rec league, increasing recreational opportunities for adults.
The PAAC is also becoming known as an elite tournament facility. It’s been the tournament site for many sports organizations such as USA Softball, USSSA, Baseball Legends, E1 Sports and Southwest Premier Baseball.
In February, PAAC was the site of the Arizona Western College “Great Western Shootout” women’s softball tournament. Ten out-of-state colleges participated, including five from Arizona.
In his recent State of the City address, Mayor Doug Nicholls announced that this tournament had been so successful that AWC is applying to host the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship in 2020 at the PAAC.
The park was a long time coming. In 2013 the city purchased the property on the northwest corner of Pacific Avenue and 8th Street for $1.62 million. In June 2015, the council approved the $14.2 million project.