City of Morgan Hill Bikeways, Trails, Parks and Recreation Master Plan

Section 7: Recommendations | May 2017 Sports Market Business Strategy – Morgan Hill, CA PAGE 102

the City wishes to expand the reach or calendar of events at the Aquatics Center it should be able to do so through the creation of a DMO that can increase marketing efforts of the Aquatics Center.

2. OUTDOOR SPORTS CENTER

Alternatively, the Outdoor Sports Center is in fair condition, and could benefit from several investment updates aimed at maintaining the current event portfolio and potentially attracting new events. The inventory of multipurpose fields in the region is significant and Morgan Hill risks losing events if the facility does not receive routine maintenance and some investment in the following:

 Replace existing FieldTurf  Install FieldTurf at all multipurpose fields  Add lighting for each surface  Consider additional parking  Improve maintenance and day-to-day operations

The recommendations listed above will improve utilization of the facility at the local and regional level. It will also allow the facility to maintain its current inventory of events and also potentially attract new ones. As more outdoor sports complexes are built, athletes have more options to consider when selecting a complex and will typically choose the complex with the best amenities. The last bullet point above is important and requires further explanation. The facility does a very good job of securing events and thinking outside the box to fill the calendar with events. The use of the grass fields for Cricket is just one example of identifying a non- traditional use for the grass fields. During stakeholder meetings, however, we heard several comments regarding the operations and maintenance at the Outdoor Sports Center, including overall appearance of the facility and condition of the grass fields. For example, multiple stakeholders informed us that some teams had withdrawn from past soccer events due to poor/unsafe field conditions. It is possible, however, that the appearance of the grass fields was due, in part, to the most recent drought experienced through much of California. Other areas of improvement should include more frequent routine maintenance, prompt event cleanup and proper data collection, including attendance figures for events. The competition for hosting events and attracting users of the facility will grow as more sports complexes are built in the region. Because of the increased competition, it is important to maintain the facility and operate it in a way that gives users a reason to return for future events. If event hosts or participants are unsatisfied with the quality of a facility they have the ability to select a different sports complex in the future. Proper data collection will help a facility like the OSC understand how it is performing on a year-to-year basis so that if the facility experiences a drop-off in events or attendance they can identify the issue early on and take necessary steps to correct the decline in demand.

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