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Soldotna council hears field house report after weekend tournament; staff propose operational fixes
Summary
City staff reported on field house operations after a recent wrestling tournament with about 800 wrestlers and roughly 3,000 attendees over two days; council discussed cleaning, staffing costs, deposits, volunteer support and technical fixes such as Wi‑Fi upgrades and cell boosters.
Director Todd provided the council an update on field house operations following a recent large weekend event. "We had 800 wrestlers on 10 mats with probably 3,000 people coming through the building over the course of 2 days," Director Todd said, and described the extra cleaning and learning curve that followed.
Todd said the track and rubberized turf required more intensive cleaning than anticipated; staff tested several cleaning approaches and used mops, brushes and volunteer help to restore the facility. He said staff are procuring specialized cleaning equipment and planning to lay carpet and mats on the track for future events to reduce wear. The director emphasized that the field house was built to be used, arguing against closing spectator access as a routine solution.
Council members pressed for accountability and cost recovery for excessive damage. Chilson asked whether organizers were being held to contract terms for staff time and damage costs; city staff said the existing contract contains language to require compensation for damages and that the city uses a booking deposit process — currently 30% at booking with the full balance due prior to the event — and could scale fees or require additional deposits for very large events.
Technical fixes and volunteer support: Staff reported the event organizer apologized and pledged cooperation; the city is increasing event Wi‑Fi capacity and exploring cell‑phone boosters for the steel building where some devices had limited service. The city manager said staff will consider amending the fee schedule to better reflect staff time for large events and may adjust contract templates per event type.
What comes next: Staff will evaluate cleaning equipment purchases, formalize options to scale deposits or fees for very large events, and return with any proposed fee-schedule changes or contract revisions for council consideration.
