Research Study: Municipal Athletic Complex St. Cloud, MN July 2016 Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………… Page 3 Ice Arenas, Hockey and Figure Skating..……………………………………. Page 5 Baseball…………….………………………………………………………………………. Page 22 Golf…………………………………………………………………………………………… Page 35 Multipurpose Facilities……………………............................................ Page 40 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………… Page 50 Sources……………………………………………………………………………………… Page 52 Acknowledgments: A special thank you to Tony Goddard, Director, Community Services and Facilities, City of St. Cloud, MN for commissioning this research in March 2016. Numerous people responded to requests for information. These people are not mentioned in this document, but we are grateful for their help. The primary research work was done by SCSU School of Public Affairs Research Institute project assistants Paul Ryan, Alex Franta, and Joseph Kucan. For inquiries, please contact: Rich MacDonald Interim Director, School of Public Affairs Research Institute St. Cloud State University [email protected] 2 Introduction The Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud, MN is described on its website (http://www.stcloudmac.com/arenapro.html) as follows: Arenas The Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC), located on the north-western side of St. Cloud, is comprised of two ice sheets, two baseball stadiums and an executive par 30 public golf course. The original ice sheet opened for business in November of 1972. For over 15 years, the MAC was the only sheet within a 30 mile radius. Originally, the MAC hosted three area high schools, St. Cloud State and St. John's University hockey programs, plus the areas youth hockey and figure skating organizations. With the increase in skating over the last 12 years, St. Cloud has seen ice sheets added to St. Cloud State University and the Benton County Fairgrounds. Having served its customers for over 20 years, usage was starting to wear on the MAC. In 1994 the MAC went through an extensive renovation. During the renovation the MAC never missed a day of business. Patrons of the MAC were very understanding and patient with the renovation process. After the final touches of the renovation were finished, MAC patrons saw an aging building become revitalized and given a new look and new features. Added to the MAC were new locker rooms, seating for 1,800, dasher boards, restrooms, office and meeting space, concession stands and additional 3,000+ square foot mezzanine. The last touch was to provide a fresh coat of paint and a bright new color scheme. Only two years after its renovation, the MAC broke ground for its second sheet of ice. In December of 1997 the MAC opened its second arena which is parallel to the original ice sheet. Similar in function to the original sheet of ice but scaled down in size, this wonderful rink complements the main sheet very well. The new arena was designed to work with the original building so it could be used as one large facility or be separated into two separate arenas. On July 23, 1998 the original arena was named and dedicated as Dave Torrey Arena and the second sheet was named and dedicated as Ritsche Arena. Currently the two arenas are kept busy nearly year round. The arenas hosts five high school teams, (3 boys - 2 girls), the St. Cloud Youth Hockey Association, the St. Cloud Figure Skating Club and several hockey schools, camps and leagues. Over 3,000 blocks of ice time are booked by groups each year. This type of impact brings an estimated 200,000 persons through the doors annually. Baseball The initial baseball field, which is known today as Dick Putz Field was opened in 1971 for baseball. Over the next 40 years Dick Putz Field has gone under several upgrades and renovations, making it one of the finest fields in the Nation. In 1993, Dick Putz Field was honored by the National High School Coaches Association as recipient of its 1993 "Field of the Year". In 1998, the addition of Joe Faber Field made the MAC a unique complex with two beautiful regulation size baseball fields side-by-side. Each year the two fields average over 400 games between the two of them. Teams from the area high schools, colleges, VFWs, Legions and amateur leagues make up the groups using these two fields. Each year the field host several prestigious tournaments starting with the State Class "AA" tournament, sandwiched by Legion and Amateur tournaments and winding up with St. Cloud Rox playoffs and Amateur state tournament qualification games. The MAC hosts the St. Cloud Rox which is a team from the collegiate "wooden bat" Northwoods League. The Rox play 35+ games a year each summer. In 1998 the MAC opened its second stadium, Joe Faber Field. This field lies directly to the north of Dick Putz Field. 3 The two full facility stadiums, only 200 feet apart, make for an excellent situation for hosting tournaments, playoff games and state tournaments Golf The Veterans Public Golf Course was taken over by the City of St. Cloud from the V.A. Hospital in 1990. Since that time, the MAC has made significant strides on making course improvements. Then in 1997 the MAC made arrangements with the V.A. Medical Center to lease the property for a period of 35 years. This arrangement allowed the City of St. Cloud to renovate the course to its current executive par 30 status. In March 2016, the School of Public Affairs Research Institute (SOPARI) at St. Cloud State University (SCSU) was asked to undertake some market research for the MAC. Among the goals of the study were to look at trends in participation in the four key sports hosted by the MAC— ice hockey, figure skating, baseball, and golf—as well as to collect information from other facilities around the region that have ice arenas, baseball fields, and golf courses. This task included reaching out to area cities to determine future plans for additional athletic facilities in the next 10 years. A couple of limiting factors have served as constraints on the depth and breadth of the research presented in this report. First, much of the data used in a study of this nature is not publically available. The time frame, scope, and budget for this project necessarily prevented the use of any proprietary data. Second, the organizations and other stakeholders contacted by project researchers were not always willing or able to provide requested information. In some cases, organizations attempted to assist in the study but simply didn’t have the data collected in a reportable format. In other cases, information was promised but was not yet delivered at the time the report was being written. Finally, some officials didn’t respond to requests. Nevertheless, the research presented in this report will help frame discussions about trends in sports participation and will help inform decisions at the MAC. Changing demographics, availability of similar facilities in neighboring communities, and competing demands on public budgets are all part of the challenges faced by the MAC and other facilities of its type. The study proceeds with a section on the ice arenas. Most of this discussion is on ice hockey, although some facts on figure skating are also presented. Separate sections on baseball and golf follow. The report ends with a discussion of multipurpose facilities and a conclusion. Sources appear at the end of the report. Two appendixes—on sample Northwoods League financial statements and general information about each Northwoods League team—were reported separately. 4 Ice Arenas, Hockey, and Figure Skating Arena Descriptions Some facilities make data openly available, while others provide a more limited set of information. A range of different accounting procedures used by similar facilities can make direct comparison of arena information particularly challenging. In particular, cost data are not typically available to the public, but pricing and revenue information is more easily obtained. A sample of this information for different facilities is provided below. Andover Community Center (Andover): The construction of the Andover community center began in 2004 and was completed in 2005. The facility is managed by the Recreational Facility Manager with oversight by a Community Center Advisory Board. The community center has a gymnasium, community rooms, an ice arena and a food court. The YMCA is a long-term tenant of the building and runs the pool and the training facility. The ice arena has one sheet of ice and can hold 1,500 people with standing room included. The arena has 6 locker rooms in total, two of which are for the boys and girls high school teams. The arena has 27 total employees. Three full time staff and twenty four part time employees. There are twelve Zamboni drivers, eight front desk workers, three skate guards, and one employee who works part time but receives a few benefits. Over the past few years the rental rates for the arena have risen steadily. Type of Ice 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2015/2016 2015/2016 Ice Time -Prime $175.00 $180.00 $185.00 $190.00 $192.00 $195.00 $198.00 Ice Time - Non Prime $140.00 $140.00 $140.00 $140.00 $145.00 $145.00 $150.00 Open Skating - Adult $4.00 $4.00 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00 $5.00 Open skating - Youth $3.00 $3.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 Skate Sharpening $3.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 $4.00 Skate Rental N/A N/A N/A $3.00 $3.00 $3.00 $3.00 Year Hours Revenue 2013-14 2565.17 $339,741.00 2014-15 2714.75 $354,908.00 2015-16 3036.17 $358,629.48 5 Since 2009, the price of prime ice rental has increased 13.1 percent for the arena and the non- prime rate increased 7.1 percent.