Inventory and Analysis of the Existing Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs System
5. Adult Softball The City of Newberry and City of High Springs are the two main providers with the City of Newberry being the sole true competitor. Based on conversations with PRCA staff, adult softball is quite popular with the residents and they do suffer from a lack of facilities currently. Also, the current fees for the adult softball league are much lower in comparison with the other two providers. Summary: The Department should look to provide facility space to meet the pent-up need for adult softball. Also, for existing offerings, the continued demand coupled with the limited supply also provides an opportunity for the Department to evaluate the current pricing model and update it to better reflect the value of the offerings. 6. Pop Warner Tackle Football There are a number of true competitors within a 10minute driving time of the City’s Pop Warner Football program, which is located at the Martin Luther King Multipurpose Center. The Boys & Girls Club, Gladiators Youth Football, Willie Jackson and Gainesville Dolphins Youth Football are all located within the City and essentially serve the same target market.
7. Soccer There are a number of service providers in the area and soccer continues to be a popular and growing sport. While many providers are more than 15 minutes away, it may still be a very saturated market for soccer offerings. Summary: With the number of other providers offering soccer in the area, the Department ought to keep program offerings at the existing level or seek partnerships to offer the program and not duplicate offerings provided by the other agencies. 8. Ultimate Frisbee Currently there is a single provider for ultimate frisbee. This is a program area, along with other non-traditional sports that is certainly exhibiting a growth pattern nationwide. Summary: The Department should explore opportunities to offer this program through the City itself in order to meet the growing need as well as fulfill a gap that exists in the offerings regionally.
Summary: While football is a popular sport in Florida and the Gainesville area, it is also served by a number of providers here. The priority rankings have demonstrated that football is not a high priority but based on conversations with PRCA staff the quality of the facility at MLK Center differentiates the City facility from all others. The PRCA staff might wish to evaluate whether there is adequate demand to continue to expand it or continue at the existing levels of service.
Frisbee field at Northside Park
Recreation, & Cultural Affairs Master Plan
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