|
Monthly Archives: August 2018
Parents want lower fees to watch kids play soccer at Eastside Sports Complex !
Friday, August 24th 2018
Parents want lower fees to watch kids play soccer at Eastside Sports Complex . . . . . . . . . .
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — As children get ready to hit the soccer fields this season, parents are asking the city of El Paso to lower the fees they have to pay to watch their kids.
The city is imposing a per-person entrance fee for the newly opened Eastside Sports Complex.”I think it’s going to be very difficult for a lot parents in this community,” said youth soccer coach Jimmy Ryan.
The fee is $5 per adult and $2 per child, and parents said it adds up.
“We were very surprised last week, when the Parks and Recreation Department emailed us and told us that fee would be a per-person entry fee,” said youth soccer parent and coach Daniel Vasquez. “It was very shocking for us to hear that the fee was going to be that high.”
District 5 City Rep. Michiel Noe said the fee is needed.
“These are fields that we made special and they are very special, and we’re going to make sure that they’re maintained in the quality that they deserve to be maintained,” he said.
A spokesperson for the city of El Paso told KFOX14 the Westside Sports Complex does not charge an entrance fee.
But, they said, since the new complex on the east side has enhanced fields and dedicated staff, it needs to have a revenue stream for that upkeep.
Parents said they are not opposed to paying a fee, but they want it to be reasonable.
“I’ve been to some of the best complexes in the country — Reach 11 in Phoenix, the Disney complex in Florida — and you don’t pay an entry fee per person. You do pay for parking, but not per person,” said Ryan. “But I think charging it as a per-person basis and the amount they want to charge per person is way off base.”
Noe said the parks department is looking into the fees and what options may be available.
Those will be presented to the City Council within the next month.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It’s Never To Late To Save Your Program Money !
Check Out Our Insurance Program Today !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.sadlersports.com/soda
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
www.sportsplexoperators.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A $5 beer at the game ? More sports teams are slashing prices on concession items !
Chiefs fans who made the trek to Atlanta for Friday’s preseason game got a couple of surprises.
First, there was Patrick Mahomes’ 69-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill. And second, the Falcons offer some of the cheapest concession-stand prices in the NFL.
The Falcons moved into Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the 2017 season and lowered food and beverage prices by 50 percent, ESPN reported. The result? Fans spent 16 percent more money.
Falcons president Rich McKay told the Washington Post that by halftime of last year’s games, the volume of concessions sales matched full-game sales from the 2016 season.
“That meant fans got in better,” McKay told the Post. “That meant security experience was better. They participated in retail. They had something to eat. The overall fan experience really improved.”
Some of the concessions prices at Mercedes-Benz Stadium: $2 for hotdogs, pretzels, popcorn, a bottle of water and regular-sized Coca-Colas. A slice of pizza or nachos cost $3. A 12-ounce Bud Light or a cheeseburger was $5.
Like any good sports trend, other teams are following suit.
The Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Hawks and the University of Texas and Mississippi State football teams have or are reducing prices on food and drinks.
On Thursday, the Rose Bowl is expected to announce cheaper prices for hotdogs, soft drinks and nachos for UCLA football games, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell.
Mississippi State slashed prices on hotdogs, nachos and soft pretzels from $5 to $2, while the cost of a 20-ounce bottle of water was cut in half to $2.
“I believe this new comprehensive plan for concessions is a key element to increasing value for our fans,” Mississippi State president Mark E. Keenum said on the athletic department’s website. “High quality refreshments, more sensible pricing, faster service and new policies that address items of input from our fan base are a winning combination for a better game day experience.”
A better fan experience is the common theme for teams with cheaper concessions.
Starting this year, the Orioles offered small, medium and large sizes for soft drinks and beer at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. There also were small and large sizes for french fries and popcorn.
Additionally, kid-sized hotdogs and sodas ($1.50 each) are at concession stands around the stadium instead of just one site.
“The fan experience at Camden Yards is defined by our commitment to fan choice, diversity of local food offerings, and family-focused sizing and pricing,” Orioles executive vice president John Angelos said in a statement, per masnsports.com.
The Lions are reducing the cost of an adult beverage. The Detroit News reported that $5 beer will be available in specific locations. The Lions also will offer a hotdog, chips and soda combo for $10 or a hotdog, chips and a beer for $12.
A $5 beer also will be available to Atlanta Hawks fans, who will find 11 other concession items that are $4 or cheaper.
Texas dropped the price of 10 food or drinks, including sodas, water, popcorn, candy and hot dogs, at its football games.
“We’re asking fans to spend their discretionary income to support our programs and attend our events, so reducing prices on concessions, providing entertainment, making it an event, that’s all a big part of our efforts to get fans to campus and into the stadium,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte told the Post.
“It’s all about making our campus the place to be on game day and to create the best atmosphere in the country.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It’s Never To Late To Save Your Program Money !
Check Out Our Insurance Program Today !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.sadlersports.com/soda
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
www.sportsplexoperators.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Multi-purpose 250-acre sports complex planned for Clermont area !
Complex will be ‘unlike anything the state
has ever seen,’ city leaders say !
CLERMONT, Fla. – Developers of the proposed Olympus sports complex told Clermont city leaders Tuesday that the project could lead to more than $1 billion in economic impact.
City leaders got their first chance to look at plans to develop 250 acres in south Lake County, along Route 27 near Lake Louisa State Park. The land is currently an undeveloped orange grove.
The city’s economic development director, Shannon Schmidt, has been working with developers on the proposed Olympus sports complex for nearly two years.
“This city has not seen a development of this size or significance,” Schmidt said. “Olympus will become almost a city of its own with the amount of activity slated to be happening there.”
The recently unveiled private development would feature a tennis complex, aquatic center, several hotels, restaurants, health care facilities and other sports training facilities.
“The city is already known as an Olympic sports training destination,” Schmidt said. “This will further complement it with an array of opportunities for amateurs, collegiate athletes, Olympic athletes and professionals.”
Developers said the complex will create nearly 6,000 jobs and pump more than $1.4 billion worth of economic impact into the community over 10 years.
City leaders expect the developers to submit a proposal for annexation, as well as rezoning of the property and a large scale comprehension plan amendment, in September. Public hearings would then take place in October through the planning and zoning commission and city council.
The five-phase project is expected to get underway in 2019 and be finished by 2025.
~ ~ ~
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It’s Never To Late To Save Your Program Money !
Check Out Our Insurance Program Today !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.sadlersports.com/soda
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
www.sportsplexoperators.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BEACON Athletics Weekly Updates / And Deals ! (Aug.)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Youth sports will be primary goal for new Hamilton sports complex, developer says !
A baseball team practices in an indoor space with turf floor at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex near Manheim, Pa. Spooky Nook Sports is planning a similar facility at the former Champion Paper Mill site in
HAMILTON, OH — It’s not a big loss for the proposed gigantic sports training and playing facility in Hamilton that professional soccer team FC Cincinnati appears to be heading for a training facility in Milford, the owner of the Hamilton facility said.
In fact, it’s a bigger deal, from Spooky Nook Sports’ perspective, for organizations like Hamilton’s championship-winning West Side Little League to participate, because the facility’s primary focus is youth sports.
Spooky Nook Sports, which hopes to break ground on the proposed Spooky Nook at Champion Mill in Hamilton next month, had been talking with FC Cincinnati about such a relationship last year, and had let the team use its existing gigantic sports training and playing complex near Lancaster during 2016 while the team had games nearby.
A facility for club training is planned in Milford, with the Clermont County board of commissioners considering a countywide 1-percent hotel bed tax to finance it.
MORE ATTRACTIONS: New parks planned as part of Hamilton River Plan
Spooky Nook owner Sam Beiler said it is local and regional youth sports teams — some teams travel from as far as a 3.5-hour drive to the existing Spooky Nook facility near Lancaster, Pa., for tournaments — that drive the country’s largest indoor sports facility’s success.
“We think it would have been exciting,” Beiler said. “But the primary goal of this project is youth sports development and economic impact. And so we feel like we’re right on target. There would have been a lot of sizzle for that, but the steak is in youth sports.”
The Hamilton complex, like its Pennsylvania counterpart, will be able to provide activities like winter softball for youth and adults, as well as volleyball, basketball, and a large variety of other sports. Training and workout facilities also are planned, including classes for local people wanting fitness options.
MORE: Hamilton’s low dams may be altered to allow safer boating
Youth sports also are what bring in 10,000 to 20,000 athletes and their families to Lancaster many weekends.
That’s the economic driver,” Beiler said. “When you have the youth tournaments, and they come in by family or by team, that’s where the economic impact happens. There’s nominal economic impact from a professional or semi-professional team. They just don’t – there’s not enough. The costs are too high to manage that.”
Spooky Nook earlier this year presented its first youth softball tournament in Butler County, as a way to introduce itself to the community. For years, Spooky Nook employees have been talking with teams, leagues and sports associations in this region to build relationships that could lead to those groups working out and playing at Spooky Nook.
“We’ve had dozens and dozens of conversations with youth sports organizations,” Beiler said. “West Side Little League is an example. Their input helped us design our baseball area. We expect they’d be heavy users.”
The U.S. Women’s Field Hockey Team also has its training facilities at Spooky Nook’s Pennsylvania complex.
“We would be interested in that, but I don’t think we have landed on a partner at this point, although there are several conversations underway that would lead to a recognizable organization being a part of that,” Beiler told the Journal-News.
“That’s not critical to our model, so it would have to be a good fit, for us and the other organization. USA Field Hockey back in Pennsylvania, it’s a great relationship. I believe they have a top-notch facility for practice and play. But the largest part of our field hockey program there is with the youth players,” he said.
“So even if there was someone like that out here, it’s at the youth level that we are most engaged. The professional sports…. We have excellent sports training, but most of our focus is on youth sports,” Beiler said.
~ ~ ~
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It’s Never To Late To Save Your Program Money !
Check Out Our Insurance Program Today !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.sadlersports.com/soda
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
www.sportsplexoperators.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tourism board approves new Sports Park operations agreement !
The Elizabethtown Sports Park operations agreement between the Elizabethtown city government and the Elizabethtown Tourism and Convention Bureau is one step closer to completion.
The tourism board approved the agreement during a brief meeting Friday morning. Director Sherry Murphy said the agreement will go before Elizabethtown City Council for a vote Sept. 10.
“The operations agreement outlines the responsibilities of the (Elizabethtown Tourism and Convention Bureau) and the city so that both parties completely understand their roles moving forward. Some specific topics covered utilities, cleaning and maintenance responsibilities, proper reporting to the city on a regular basis, insurance coverage, indemnification for the city, etc.,” she said.
Murphy said the tourism board sees no areas of concern.
“Both the city and tourism understood the need to equip the future professional management company with the ability to recognize possible income sources,” she said.
The lease agreement for the Elizabethtown Sports Park between the two entities was approved Aug. 13. It will become effective and extend for a five-year term from the date a professional management company, as selected by the tourism bureau, takes occupancy of the park.
The lease agreement gave the board the ability to move forward with securing a third-party operator with experience managing sports venues. The target is to identify and select an operator for the 2019 sports season.
The 150-acre park has been operated by the city recreation department since its founding in 2012. It has experienced a financial deficit of more than $1 million annually.
~ ~ ~
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It’s Never To Late To Save Your Program Money !
Check Out Our Insurance Program Today !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.sadlersports.com/soda
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
www.sportsplexoperators.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
More cheap foods ! Texas moves to ‘fan friendly’ concessions prices at football stadium !
Texas’s game-day concessions are about to become a lot cheaper, something Bevo, the Longhorns’ mascot, can certainly get behind. (Harry Cabluck/Associated Press)
The “fan-friendly” concessions prices movement has hit college football.
Texas announced this month it would slash game-day concession prices at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on items such as hot dogs (from $5 to $4), popcorn (from $4.50 to $3) and fountain sodas (from $5 to $3).
Professional sports franchises, starting with tenants of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, experimented with reduced prices for stadium snacks during the 2017 sports calendar to great success.
At Falcons’ games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last season, the volume of concessions sales at kickoff matched full-game sales from the 2016 season, team President Rich McKay said in a May interview. Fans spent 16 percent more on concessions at 2017 Falcons games than they did in 2016.
Other professional teams, including the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens and Atlanta Hawks, have cut food prices as well.
Texas also will host a five-hour pregame street party outside the stadium, called “Bevo Boulevard” in honor of the school’s mascot, that will include live entertainment and happy hour prices on beer and wine.
Attendance at Longhorn football games has dropped as the team struggles to return to national prominence. DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium seats more than 100,000 spectators, but the 2017 season saw an average attendance of 92,778, down five percent from 2016.
“That is heresy in Texas,” said Nick Watanabe, assistant professor of sport and entertainment management at the University of South Carolina. “So I think this is a kind of way to reverse that trend, to make it affordable for fans to come out.”
Texas athletics officials say they’re competing with the same elements as professional sports teams — your comfy couch and food from your fridge — to get fans into stadium seats. And they’re working with the same value proposition, Watanabe said, to make Longhorn football games feel more affordable.
Ticket prices to college football games are generally so expensive that knocking a few bucks off the original cost isn’t enough to change consumer behavior. But food prices are low enough that cutting them by a couple dollars could lead a consumer to swallow the cost of tickets, knowing a meal won’t be all that pricey.
“We want to make it reasonable for families and our students to come out and cheer on our teams,” Texas Athletics Director Chris Del Conte said. “That was the number one priority in doing that.”
Let’s say a family of four goes to a Texas game and each member eats a hot dog and drinks a soda. Let’s throw in an order of nachos because someone got hungry in the second half.
Under the old price system, that would be $45. With the new prices, it would be $32.
Maybe the $13 saved pays for stadium parking.
“We’re asking fans to spend their discretionary income to support our programs and attend our events, so reducing prices on concessions, providing entertainment, making it an event, that’s all a big part of our efforts to get fans to campus and into the stadium,” Del Conte said. “It’s all about making our campus the place to be on game day and to create the best atmosphere in the country.”
If Texas has success with reduced concessions pricing, Watanabe said, look for it to spread quickly through the rest of college sports. UT’s athletic department, according to USA Today, generated the most revenue of any college athletic department in the country last year.
~ ~ ~
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It’s Never To Late To Save Your Program Money !
Check Out Our Insurance Program Today !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.sadlersports.com/soda
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
www.sportsplexoperators.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BEACON Athletics Weekly Updates / And Deals ! (Aug.)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ravens concessions price drops include $5 beer, $3 hot dogs !
Concessions at Ravens games next season will include a $5 domestic beer, $3 hot dogs and $6 burgers, president Dick Cass announced at a news conference Thursday.
The new “Flock Friendly Fare” initiative reduces prices on 21 of the most popular menu items, with an average drop of 33 percent. Prices for favorites like soft pretzels and fries will be reduced by up to 53 percent, and no single item will cost more than $9.
Cass said the decision to reduce the prices came after hearing more criticisms than compliments about the cost of concessions.
“We heard the criticism, and we’re responding, and we hope they’re going to take that into account when they’re making a decision of whether or not to come to a game,” Cass said. “And if they do come, it’s going to be less expensive for them, particularly for a family.”
Non-alcoholic beverages will also be reduced by an average of 39 percent. Five alcoholic beverages, including domestic draft and packaged beer, will be reduced by an average of 16 percent.
The stadium will also introduce a 12-ounce domestic beer for $5 — a first for the stadium, Cass said.
“I think our fans will welcome a $5 beer,” he said.
“We’re expecting that our revenue from concessions on game day will decline something in excess of a million and a half dollars” over the course of the season, Cass said, adding that the cost will be absorbed by the team.
The move follows the Atlanta Falcons’ decision to drop their concession prices by 50 percent when they moved into Mercedes-Benz Stadium last year. Team officials reported that fans spent 16 percent more than in the previous year, according to ESPN.
For the Ravens, the move is part of an effort to be more fan-friendly after a 2017 season in which the team missed the playoffs for a third consecutive year. The number of empty seats at M&T Bank Stadium became a major storyline, as did the fan response to roughly a dozen players who knelt during the national anthem before the team’s game in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Discussions about reducing costs began before last season. Cass said the plan, with input and help of Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, came together in March.
Chris Bigelow, food service consultant to stadiums and arenas and the president of the Bigelow Companies, said it’s an unusual move for the NFL teams, whose fans pay higher fees for seat licenses, parking and tickets than fans of most other sports. Bigelow said food and beverage sales are a smaller percentage of revenue for the NFL than for other sports.
“When this was first announced [by the Falcons], I thought if there’s a lot of teams interested in that, we would have seen more by now,” he said.
But football is also facing increased competition from esports and the rising popularity of soccer.
“I think all the teams will be looking for ways to offer a better value to the customer,” he said.
Ravens concessions with reduced prices
Food
- Stadium hot dogs and peanuts, both previously sold for $5, are now $3 each.
- Grilled hot dogs, once $6.50, are now $5.
- Stadium burgers, once $8.50, are now $6.
- An entree of chicken tenders and fries, once $11, is now $7.
- French fries, once $6, are now $3.
- Pizza, once $8.50, is now $6.
- Nachos, once $5, are now $7.75.
- Bavarian pretzels and regular popcorn, both previously sold for $5.25, are now $3 each.
- Soft pretzels, formerly $4.25, are now $2.
- Bottomless popcorn, once $8.75, is $6.
Non-alcoholic beverages
- Souvenir sodas (with one refill) are $5 each instead of $8.
- A large fountain soda, once $5.25, is now $3.
- A liter of bottled water, once $6.50, is now $4. A 20-ounce bottled water is $3, down from its original $4.75 price.
Alcohol
- The 12-ounce domestic packaged beer, a new offering, is $5.
- Domestic 16-ounce packaged and draft beers are $7 each, instead of $8.50.
- Premium packaged and draft beers, once $9.50, are now $8 each.
- Premium spirits, formerly $10, are now $9.
~ ~ ~
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It’s Never To Late To Save Your Program Money !
Check Out Our Insurance Program Today !
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
www.sadlersports.com/soda
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
www.sportsplexoperators.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Proudly Serving The USA/Canada Since 1981”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .