Increased use of park fields leads to fee hikes

Large growth in athletic participation at Craven County parks is prompting new guidelines and fees for field usage for leagues, travel teams and tournaments.

The Craven County Board of Commissioners approved the fee changes, requested this week by Recreation Director Jan Parker, for Creekside and West Craven parks.

“We need to recoup a small portion of the cost to operate,” Parker said. That includes help with rising costs for maintenance staff, equipment, utilities and capital needs.

She said tournaments sometimes bring up to 30 teams to the county’s parks and “can bring in a lot more revenue.”

Parker said the amount received already in fees from the teams was up from about $11,000 to $17,000 last year, but more participation also costs more in staff and equipment.

She said the staff has worked on the new regulations and fee schedule for several months in order to determine ways to make the park facility reservation process and fees equitable for all users.

Parker requested a new fee structure that increases some fees by about 20 percent and leaves others unchanged.

One-time team practice field use for lighted fields and tournament light fees will increase from $20 to $25 per field, per day beginning Jan. 1, 2010.

Under the new fee structure, the cost for athletic field usage includes a $100 deposit for tournaments, $50 of which can go toward the $50 per field, per day cost. Another is a $150 per day cost for lining and marking four fields for tournaments, plus a $5 per bag cost for lining material.

“We do allow teams to charge an entry fee and allow concessions,” Parker said.

Commissioner Lee K. Allen said he objects to county residents being charged to attend an event at a county park.

“I don’t think it’s fair,” he said.

Parker said the fields are fenced off, charges are only for tournaments, and county residents “would be charged to get into any other part of the park.”

County Manager Harold Blizzard said charging for field use is much like charging to use the convention center, and at park tournaments the teams themselves pocket what they collect in admission fees.

Commissioners unanimously approved the new forms and fee schedules.

Sue Book can be reached at 252-635-5666 or sbook@freedomenc.com.