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E.S. Rose fields report: Belmont uses a fraction of available time, scholarships and community programs funded by lease payments
Summary
Metro Parks staff presented the annual E.S. Rose Park report outlining Belmont University’s field usage, community access, utility arrangements and scholarships funded by lease revenue; Belmont covers most utilities during its season and the university funds multi-year turf projects.
Wayne Evans, superintendent for revenue-producing facilities, presented the annual report on E.S. Rose Park and the partnership with Belmont University at the July 1 meeting.
Evans said Belmont uses the athletic fields between roughly 13% and 20% of available time depending on the sport; the remainder is available for community users such as schools and clubs. "At the bottom, you can see the unscheduled time available. So that park for a good bit of the time...is just open space for the community to use," Evans said.
The report noted Belmont spent about $1.647 million on field maintenance and improvements this past year, driven largely by new turf installation for the baseball field; Evans said that figure is higher than a typical year, which is closer to $200,000 annually. Belmont pays about 75% of utilities most months and covers the majority of maintenance during its season; Metro Parks covers utilities during months when Belmont is not using the fields.
Lease payments from Belmont post annually; Evans said most recent posted figures were about $60,000–$62,000 and that 80% of lease revenue goes to Metro Parks for Easley Community Center programming while 20% is split between the PTOs at Carter Lawrence Elementary and Rose Park Middle School. Those funds support programming, field trips, supplies, extended hours and a part-time employee at Easley.
Evans also described the E.S. Rose scholarship established by Belmont in memory of Reverend E.S. Rose. The scholarship awards two four-year full tuition scholarships each year, producing roughly eight students on scholarship at any time; priority is given to students living closest to the Edgehill neighborhood who apply by Dec. 1.
Evans said the partnership yields significant community benefit while leaving a majority of field time available for local groups. The board received the report; no formal vote was required.
