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City of Eugene Summer Ultimate- 105 (8) Community Softball League -288 (16) <br />ASA Girls Softball –108 (7) Latino Soccer League- 240 (12) <br />Of these organizations, none are able to get all of the field time that they desire. Some of the <br />organizations get use of fields for only a small percentage of their games and little or no time to <br />practice. Because of this demand, all of the City of Eugene's natural turf sports fields are being <br />played at 100% of their capacity, based on what we know about the fields threshold for use. <br />Fields that are overplayed require a long recovery period of 6 -12 months. This can reduce the <br />overall field inventory by 25% during certain periods of the year. This information leads us to <br />understand that the Eugene community is in need of additional sports fields— primarily open turf <br />fields that can accommodate multiple sport usage. <br />The area being considered for athletic field development —the current Century baseball field and <br />adjoining unimproved turf area —has been used as sports fields for decades. In the past 10 years, <br />Recreation staff have discouraged use of this area due to uneven and hard ground conditions that <br />occur at this site every summer and fall. However, because there is such a shortage of playing <br />fields, some user groups and participants continue to use this area at the risk of injury. <br />The Mayor's Committee identified a need for 16 new ballfields in the 1998 bond measure. <br />However, only six new fields have been developed on City property. Four of these were done via <br />a partnership with the Babe Ruth Baseball organization at Bethel Community Park. The two <br />ballfields at Amazon will mean that only 8 of the 16 ballfields will be added to the City's <br />inventory. Additionally, fields are currently out of play, and one will be completely lost in south <br />Eugene due to the replacement of Ida Patterson Elementary School. <br />We are working to make up the difference using a number of creative strategies, including: <br />• Renovating ballfields on existing school district property; <br />• Developing new ballfields on existing school district property; and <br />• Utilizing synthetic surface fields, also on school district property, that provide expanded play <br />time from traditional turf fields. <br />You have asked a number of thoughtful questions, and I hope that this begins to answer some of <br />them. We are still in the process of developing our Comprehensive Plan for Parks, Recreation & <br />Open Space. Until this research is complete, some of your questions will remain unanswered. I <br />look forward to working with you as we continue the plans for Amazon Park. A notice of the <br />next public meeting will be forthcoming. <br />Sincerely, <br />Ai/ Aw <br />Andrea G. Riner <br />Parks & Open Space Planning Manager <br />Cc: Carolyn Weiss, Project Manager <br />Johnny Medlin, POS Division Manager <br />Kurt Corey, PW Director <br />Angel Jones, LRCS Director <br />Renee Grube, Recreation Division Manager <br />Scott Duckett, Natural Resources Manager <br />Mayor Torrey and Eugene City Councilors <br />