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<br /> 11/04/2003 15:59 FAX 541 682 5414 CITY MGRS OFFICE 1~J006 <br /> 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 g~;t 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 tlne City of Eugene's natural turf sports fields are being <br /> played at 100% of their capacity, based o~i what we know about the fields threshold for use. <br /> Fields that are overplayed require a long recovery peziod 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 Gports fields for decades. In the pasf l 0 years, <br /> Recreation staff have discouraged use of this area due to uneven and hard ground conditions that <br /> occur at this site every surnrner 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 neeil 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 l 6 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 Patiterson Elementary. School. <br /> We are working to make up the difference using a number of creative strategies, including: <br /> ¦ Renovating ballfields on existing sch~~ol district. property; <br /> ¦ Developing new ballfields on existing; school district property; and <br /> ¦ Utilizing synthetic surface fields, alsc? 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 /> C)pen 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•gublic meeting will be fortlicoining. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> Andrea G. River. <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 birector <br /> Renee Grube, Recreation Division Manager <br /> .Scott Duckett, Natural Resources, Manager <br /> ..Mayor Torrey and Eugene City Councilors <br /> <br />