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Perkins defers hosting summer sports tournaments; board to study team‑run fundraisers and formal guidelines
Summary
Board members and staff cited staffing, upfront costs and rainout risk when deciding not to move forward with city‑run sports tournaments for summer 2025; the board asked staff to place a tournament‑guidelines and fundraiser proposal on the next agenda for further consideration.
Perkins Parks and Recreation did not approve hosting city‑run sports tournaments for summer 2025 after a lengthy discussion at the March 5 regular meeting. Board members and staff cited limited staff time, upfront costs and logistical burdens — notably payment to umpires, ring costs for winners, gate staffing and rainout refunds — as barriers to running tournaments this summer.
Why it matters: Tournaments require extra staffing, vendor commitments and cash handling; if the department runs them it bears financial and operational risk. A decision to decline city‑run tournaments affects local teams that use tournaments to raise funds and attracts visiting teams that generate gate revenue.
Staff said umpires might expect cash payment at the end of each weekend and that experienced umpires could earn about $500 per weekend if enough teams attend. The meeting also cited vendor costs for awards (one speaker cited rings at about $8 apiece for first and second place) and the risk that rainy weather would force refunds while leaving the department with rings it could not return. A speaker estimated gate revenue could reach roughly $2,000–$3,000 per day at peak attendance, which would require multiple gate workers and concession staffing to manage.
After discussion a board member proposed a motion that the parks department not host summer tournaments this calendar year. The group did not proceed with a formal, recorded affirmative vote to adopt a binding prohibition; instead the board characterized the matter as "no action" for this meeting and agreed to pursue an alternative approach. Several members supported exploring an option in which teams host small fundraising tournaments themselves while the department provides concessions support or charges field rental fees to cover staff time.
Next steps: Board members asked staff to put a detailed agenda item on the next meeting to develop tournament guidelines and a fundraiser‑hosting policy, including clear field rental fees, concessions arrangements and staffing expectations. The matter was also proposed to be revisited in the fall if the board wants to reconsider city‑run tournaments.
