On Oct. 27 the Austin Parks and Recreation Board voted unanimously to send a letter of appreciation and support to the City of Austin’s adult athletics team, recognizing the program’s reach and recent facility improvements.

The board’s letter, read at the meeting by Chair Stephanie Bizon, said the department’s adult sports programs engage “more than 1,100 teams and over 11,500 community members” across softball, basketball, volleyball and flag football and praised recent capital and programmatic efforts. The motion to approve the letter was moved by Vice Chair Flowers and seconded by Board Member Villalobos; the board voted 10-0 to adopt the letter.

The letter highlighted numbers and recent enhancements that board members and staff emphasized during a presentation by recreation staff. Jim Kodak, recreation district manager, and Liz Tyckman, recreation services supervisor, described the department’s year-round adult-league offerings and partnerships. Staff said adult softball is the department’s largest league, operated across the Walnut Creek Metropark and the Craig Softball Complex using 16 fields, and that the department coordinates tournaments and events with more than 40 local organizations.

Staff noted recent and planned facility upgrades tied to athletics programming. The board’s letter and staff presentation called out conversion of a Craig multipurpose field from Bermuda grass to artificial turf, new accessible parking and concrete trails, and plans to expand soccer and senior basketball offerings once turf is online. Parks staff said the turf project is expected to be complete by December and will expand playability in heavy-rain events.

The board and staff also described contracting and operations details: the department manages four tennis centers (38 tennis courts and eight pickleball courts) and pays roughly $300,000 annually to officials and umpires for adult athletics. The board’s letter singled out the recent City Olympics — described by staff as engaging more than 900 city employees and retirees — as an example of signature program work.

Board members briefly questioned connections to other equity initiatives and asked staff to return with more detail on youth/youth-serving organization (YSO) contracts, online reservations and subsidy reallocation that staff said are being worked on to improve access across neighborhoods.

The board’s adopted letter closes by thanking the adult athletics team for contributing to Austin’s community health and connection.