PAAC draws in nearly $500K
Director: Economic impact to community estimated at $1.4 million
The Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex collected nearly half a million dollars in revenues in its first year of operation and made an estimated economic impact of about $1.4 million in the community.
Debbie Wendt, director of the Yuma Parks and Recreation Department, shared those figures with the City Council during a Wednesday report on the first year of the sports complex, which opened Sept. 1, 2017, at 1700 E. 8th St.
The total revenue collected since the PAAC opened is $447,190 and includes money collected from cityrun leagues and tournaments and rental revenues from private tournaments.
For the first time, the city is charging gate fees and offering concessions. Gate fees totaled $118,124, with $88,104 going to promoters, who are required to pay taxes.
Food and drinks are available during all programs and activities. Concession sales amounted to $249,466.
The increase in revenues was almost 350 percent from the previous year, which totaled $93,098 for city tournaments and $8,382 for private tournaments.
The city worked with Visit Yuma to come up with the economic impact figure based on the amount esti-
mated to have been spent by out-of-town teams and family members on hotels, restaurants, gas stations and shopping.
“The PAAC was built to bring in sports tourism and based on the economic impact and the revenues we brought in at the PAAC, I feel it has been very successful,” Wendt said.
Wendt also pointed out increases in the 2 percent hospitality tax, which is collected by hotels, restaurants and bars, and sales tax, but the amounts attributed specifically to the PAAC can’t be separated.
“But we know for a fact all the family members and the kids and the adults that come from out of town have been filling our restaurants and visiting our establishments,” she said.
August sales tax revenues came in at a “very healthy” 8.4 percent increase over last year, improving on July’s increase year-to-year of 6.2 percent. This pushed the fiscal yearto-date increase to 7.3 percent.
The 2 percent hospitality tax collections totaled $417,000, up $18,000 or 4.7 percent from last August, with a fiscal year-to-date increase of 3.1 percent.
However, the PAAC revenues are still not covering all expenses. Last year the city budgeted $931,000 in operating costs, and which were under budget at the end of the year. This year, the city added more parttime workers and budgeted $971,000 in operating costs. Labor costs totaled $302,516.
“Although we didn’t collect enough money to pay all of the (operating and maintenance) to include the labor costs, we paid for all of our labor costs with revenues that we brought in … The remainder of the revenues we brought in does help offset the O&M costs which is the materials, and supplies and utilities,” Wendt explained.
“Although we have not covered all operation costs for the programming at the PAAC, it definitely has made a significant impact in our community, which is what the PAAC was built to do,”she added.
‘STILL NOT ENOUGH’
“It’s been a wild year at the PAAC,” said Oscar Chavez, a supervisor with the Parks and Recreation Department. “A year ago I said if we build it, they will come. There’s no doubt. We built it, and they came, and they’re still coming.”
Chavez reported that prior to the PAAC, the city hosted an average of 16 tournaments per year. In the first year of the PAAC, the city hosted 28 tournaments, including 12 new tournaments. A total of 675 teams, including 275 out-oftown teams, played at the complex, and 136,269 players, spectators and visitors walked through the doors.
The PAAC was used 270 days and many of the 95 unused days for maintenance. Typically only four days out of the month are not programmed for play.
With the PAAC, the city has eight softball facilities, including 20 multiuse fields and 20 softball fields for practice, games, city and private tournaments and special and private events. The city uses a first-come first-served reservation system.
“But there is still not enough to go around,” Chavez said. “How can that be?” He said he gets calls every day requesting fields.
“Prior to the PAAC, there was no practice facility available because every single one of our fields was being used for games, every night of the week, just about. After the PAAC, we have a little bit of room, just a little bit,” he explained, noting that that extra room has been mostly used to increase youth sports.
“Before where we were saying, no, there is nothing available,” Chavez said, now the city is trying to accommodate as many as possible as organizations seek time on city fields. It takes some juggling.
“Another issue we have is Yuma is a growing place, a fast-growing place,” he said, noting that longtime sports organizations are seeing an increase in participation. Some fields are converted to soccer because there are not enough soccer fields. Also, new organizations are bringing youth football and soccer to Yuma and they need fields.
After the presentation, Councilman Mike Shelton suggested that a marquee be installed to let locals know about events at the complex and noted that a private investor might be interested in footing the bill to promote themselves. He said he’s heard people say they drove by and nothing is happening. Wendt noted that the PAAC and Parks and Rec websites list the tournaments as well as the activity guide and monthly newsletters. She also goes on the radio every Thursday to talk about what’s happening.
Councilwoman Karen Watts said she was doubtful anyone would come in the summer months. Chavez noted that they had two late-night tournaments in July and August.
Watts also asked if revenues would eventually pay all the costs. “I would love to be able to say the PAAC will be able to cover all operating costs. That is the hope, but when look all other recreational facilities,” Wendt said, noting that activities at city swimming pools and parks are subsidized by the city. Just like those programs, the PAAC is a community service. “If we charged what it actually costs, we wouldn’t have anybody being able to go in through those doors.”
City Administrator Greg Wilkinson explained that the complex is paid by two funds: impact fees and the voter-approved hospitality tax, which is earmarked for recreational facilities. Roughly 50 percent of the $14.2-million PAAC was built with development fees. The other 50 percent is coming out of the hospital tax; the city is not using any general funds to pay down the PAAC debt. The annual bond payment just over $1 million a year.
Deputy Mayor Gary Knight clarified that the hospitality tax that pays for the PAAC and the bond cannot be used to fix roads or pay public safety salaries. Wilkinson further clarified that impact fees can only be used for new projects. They can’t go to maintain existing facilities.