Draft Recommendations Presentation June 7, 2016 Agenda Project - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Arlington County Athletic Facilities Allocation Study Draft Recommendations Presentation June 7, 2016

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Project Overview

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Review of Historical Data

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Inventory Analysis

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Benchmarking

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Findings Summary

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Work Session Results

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Draft Recommendations

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Next Steps

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Questions and Comments

Agenda

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• DPR recognized that the way in which sport user groups obtain

athletic field space has become unequitable and inconsistent since the original structure was developed four decades ago.

• Demand for athletic fields continues to increase beyond field

inventory and grass capacity (i.e.; there are not enough fields and grass fields are overscheduled)

• DPR hired GreenPlay LLC to develop a Sport User Group Allocation

Policy to provide for the fair allocation of athletic fields.

• The process to develop this policy includes input from identified sport

user groups, DPR, APS, and the Sports Commission.

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Project Overv rview

• Phase I; Study As-Is
• Reviewed DPR’s current field allocation processes
• Reviewed DPR’s use and league data
• Listened to Users: What’s working & What isn’t? (June 2015 Engagement)
• Inventoried fields in consideration (i.e.; diamond & rectangular)
• Benchmarking
• Phase 2: Findings and Sport User Groups Work Session
• Exercise 1: Allocation priority system
• Exercise 2: Activity slots allocated
• Exercise 3: Defining seasons
• Draft Recommendations review
• Next Step

Project Overv rview

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DPR’s Current Processes

• DPR uses a priority system to allocate athletic field space:
• Arlington Public School Scholastic Sports Program
• Arlington County DPR and Affiliate sports
• Arlington based teams that are part of metro leagues
• Arlington County resident rentals / Arlington based business/social

leagues

• Non-county resident rentals
• Affiliate programs have agreements with DPR and pay a per

player per season fee. DPR has not accepted new affiliates in several years, but has allowed some groups a temporary status.

• Affiliate groups reserve space through a DPR liaison and

rental organizations reserve through Facilities Scheduling.

His istorical Data

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Current DPR Field Scheduling Timeline

December Winter January February March April May June July August September October November Winter Spring Summer Fall

APS Fall DPR & Affiliates Fall Rentals Fall APS Spring DPR & Affiliates Winter Rentals Winter Rentals Spring DPR & Affiliates Spring APS Summer DPR & Affiliates Summer Rentals Summer

Approximate seasonal starts. Note, winter varies with some leagues starting before and

• thers after the new year.

GW and Marymount University provide practice and game schedules 90 days in advance of start.

His istorical Data

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DPR Data: Athletic Field Demand

• Participation Data (DPR & Affiliates):
• Youth Sports show steady annual increases in nearly all

types of sport and an over a 45% increase from FY10- FY15.

• From FY10-FY15, Adults Sports have grown by 9%, but

remain steady because of maximum field capacity.

• Field Requests Data:
• Reserved hours on diamond and rectangular fields has

increased by nearly 20% from FY13 to FY15

• Fields are reserved above recommended number of hours

to avoid turf damage

• Requests exceed the available space and seasons are

stretched

26,500 27,000 27,500 28,000 28,500 29,000 29,500 30,000 30,500 DPR & Affiliate Sports Growth FY13 FY14 FY15

Assessment and Analysis

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Inventory Analysis

In FY 2015, 8 fields in Arlington County were out

• r had limited scheduling because of field

construction. Fields Synthetic Grass Totals Diamond 1 33 34 Rectangular 13 33 46 Combination 18 18 Total 14 84 98

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Benchmarking Field Allocation Policies

• Reviewed Field Allocation processes from various

communities across the country

• Policies vary and often use “past history” to specify

hours based on age groups

• Some similar components include:
• Defined Priority Levels and criteria
• Amount of practice/game hours limited by age
• Defined seasons of play
• Historical or previous year priority
• Event clarification
• Defined new group process
• Associated fees referred to – often not defined

Benchmarking

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Focus Group Summary ry

5 Focus Groups 1 Public Meeting

All affiliate groups attended 12 youth organizations 14 adult organizations

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Phase 1 - Findings Summary ry

• Current allocation system inconsistent in defining user groups / priority
• Sports Groups have no defined field usage standards for games, practices,

matches

• No defined and agreed upon criteria for appropriate weekly field activities
• Sports Groups have no defined seasons of play
• Develop equitable criteria for allocation
• Current process does not provide flexibility for new sports or sport growth
• Lack of communication from sports groups when fields are not used
• Number of requests exceeds existing fields inventory

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Sport User Group Work Sessions

27 Sport User Groups 5 Sports Commissioners

2 Work Sessions

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Work Session Summary

• Exercise 1: Allocation priority system
• Exercise 2: Activity slots allocated
• Exercise 3: Defining seasons

Sport User Group Work Sessions

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Exercise 1: Priority System

• Establish a new categorization priority system
• Age
• Organizational size
• Tax status
• Level
• League/Sport Options
• Residency %
• Other?

Sport User Group Work Sessions

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Priority System Summary

• Sport User Groups’ ranking of categories:
• 1. Residency %
• 2. Age
• 3. Tax status
• 4. Organizational size
• 5. Level of play
• 6. League/Sport Options
• 7. Other: Historical use

Sport User Group Work Sessions

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Exercise 2: Activity Slots

• Define activities per week & usage (e.g.; games v. practices)
• Age breakdown / Hours per age group
• Recreation / Competitive

Sport User Group Work Sessions

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Activity Slots Summary

Sport User Group Work Sessions

Primary Season Recreational Minimum Activities / Week Maximum Activities / Week Practice Game Practice Game 8 and under 1 1 2 1 9 to 12 1 1 2 2 13 to 18 2 1 2 2 Adult 1 2 Competitive Minimum Activities / Week Maximum Activities / Week Practice Game Practice Game 8 and under 1 1 3 1 9 to 12 2 1 3 1 13 to 18 2 2 3 2 Adult 1 2 Length of Activity Minimum Activity Length Maximum Activity Length Practice Game Practice Game 8 and under 1 1 1.5 1 9 to 12 1.5 1.5 2 1.5 13 to 18 1.5 2 2 2 Adult 1.5 1.5

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Exercise 3: Define Seasons

• Define seasons of play
• Start date
• Weeks per season
• Primary & Secondary
• Sport variation

Sport User Group Work Sessions

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Define Seasons Summary

Sport User Group Work Sessions

Season Begin End Duration Fall Mid-Aug Mid-Nov 12 weeks Winter Jan Feb 8 weeks Spring Mid-Mar Mid-June 12 weeks Summer Mid-June Mid-Aug 8 weeks

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Defining Terms

Non-profit: Arlington based organization that is recognized as a non-profit by the Commonwealth of Virginia, receives a tax exemption from the IRS under Section 501 C (3) or (7) and provides an IRS EIN number. Residency: DPR currently establishes residency percentages at 100% for DPR youth leagues and 66% for DPR adult leagues must be Arlington residents.

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Defining Terms

Level of play:

• a. Recreational is a no cut / no tryout league that has a guaranteed play

rule.

• b. Competitive is a league that conducts tryouts or is selected by

invitation and has no guaranteed play rule. League Options:

• a. Multiple options refers to organizations that offer sports similar to
• thers offered in Arlington County.
• b. Only option refers to those organizations that offer sports where there

is no reasonable alternative to play in Arlington County.

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Defining Terms

Seasons of play:

• a. Primary: Are the traditional seasons of Spring and Fall. A league’s

primary season is that in which the league fields the most number of players and teams.

• b. Secondary: A league’s secondary season is that in which the league

chooses to play outside their primary season.

• c. Shoulder: Are the seasons of Summer and Winter. A league may

request an allocation during the shoulder season for All-stars, tournaments, etc.

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Draft Recommendations

Create a Priority Tier System

DPR will schedule all scholastic (APS) programs, DPR programs, and other organizations for which there are legal agreements prior to the establishment of this policy. This policy establishes a Tier System for the allocation of field space after this initial scheduling round. Priority Tier System Tier 1: Resident, youth, non-profit

• League, recreational
• League, competitive

Tier 2: Resident, Adult, non-profit Tier 3: Resident, for-profit

• Youth
• Adult

Tier 4: Non-resident

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Draft Recommendations

Define Seasons of play

DPR has established seasons for field usage. However, in addition to establishing field usage, DPR could benefit from defining seasons of play for each sport and the priority given that season . Seasons should be defined as Primary, Secondary and Shoulder (All-stars, Tournament, etc.). Additionally, a sport in their Primary season should have priority use of a field over a sport in their Secondary or Shoulder seasons . Spring Season (Baseball, Softball, Youth Ultimate, Soccer, Lacrosse) Fall Season (Football, Soccer)

Season Begin End Duration Fall Mid-Aug Mid-Nov 12 weeks Winter Jan Feb 8 weeks Spring Mid-Mar Mid-June 12 weeks Summer Mid-June Mid-Aug 8 weeks

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Draft Recommendations

Define activities per week

As the sport leagues continue to grow and as new sports leagues are formed it will require DPR to establish a standard for the number, duration and possibly activity type (practice, game/match) per week. The Sports User Groups were asked during the Work Sessions to define their ideal maximum and minimum number of activities per week along with the time duration. Minimum activities by age group: 8 and under: 2 activities/2 hours 9 to 12: 2 activities/3 hours 13 to 18: 3 activities/5 hours

Primary Season Recreational Minimum Activities / Week Maximum Acitvities / Week Practice Game Practice Game 8 and under 1 1 2 1 9 to 12 1 1 2 2 13 to 18 2 1 2 2 Adult 1 2 Competitive Minimum Activities / Week Maximum Activities / Week Practice Game Practice Game 8 and under 1 1 3 1 9 to 12 2 1 3 1 13 to 18 2 2 3 2 Adult 1 2 Length of Activity Minimum Activity Length Maximum Activity Length Practice Game Practice Game 8 and under 1 1 1.5 1 9 to 12 1.5 1.5 2 1.5 13 to 18 1.5 2 2 2 Adult 1.5 1.5

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Review Residency Percentages for Youth and Adult Leagues DPR currently establishes residency percentages at 100% for DPR youth leagues and 66% for DPR adult leagues. Based on input and benchmarking DPR should review the current definition and consider a residency percentage to maximize participation and still serve the residents of Arlington County.

• Youth Recreational: maintain current percentage at 100%
• Youth Competitive: consider range between 75% - 90%
• Adult: consider a range between 60% - 75%

Draft Recommendations

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Steps for Forming New Leagues The steps described below are to be utilized when introducing a new sports activity or league formation that is not already represented by an established group or organization in Arlington County

• 1. All new leagues must inform DPR in writing at least six (6) months

prior to the start of the season of their intention. The new league must meet all league requirements as outlined by DPR.

• 2. All new leagues for which there is an established organization will be

required by DPR to join that organization for resource efficiency.

Draft Recommendations

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As demand grows these are other possibilities to consider:

• Separate recreational play from competitive play within youth sports

leagues and give priority to recreational play.

• Give priority to games/matches and reduce or eliminate practice

allocations.

• Consider consolidation of sports leagues with multiple options.

Other Considerations

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Next Steps

• DPR will conduct Fall 2016 pilot focusing
• nly on field allocation
• DPR will work with the Sports Commission
• n policy attributes

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Thank you! Project Manager Art Thatcher art@greenplayllc.com