Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Park Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board presses Junior Pro football league to address gate-fee collection after severe park congestion
Summary
Board members described a day when parking overflow and gate-fee collection for Junior Pro football caused traffic to back onto State Route 76 and asked league representatives to attend the next meeting to explain gate-collection practices and possible contract remedies.
Agency official told the board that on one recent game day the Junior Pro football league collected gate fees while multiple communities and fall-ball activities were using the park, creating severe congestion that at one point backed out onto State Route 76.
"It backed out into '76 and everything," Agency official said, describing an event where multiple fields and leagues coincided and traffic flowed onto nearby roadways. The league’s president reportedly said they allowed more than 3,000 people that day but the park staff said that level of attendance had not been communicated ahead of time.
Board members debated options for preventing future disruptions: require the league to collect fees electronically or via team fees in advance, require collection only at controlled gates, add contract language prohibiting gate collections from parking areas, or consider denying gate collection privileges if the league cannot demonstrate a secure gate plan. One Committee member urged returning the responsibility to the league: "throw it back on them that it's their problem, not ours."
The board agreed it is important to ask the league to attend the next meeting with its affiliate contract and to report on steps it plans to take; staff also indicated they will consider contract language changes and operational remedies (fencing, team-fee collection, or pre-paid electronic collection).
