Recreation & Open Space Strategy Wagga Wagga City Council
Sports Grounds Fees Lease The quantum of fee for sports grounds which are leased (that is, exclusive use is approved to the club/association) will be subject to negotiation between the Council and the club/association, having regard to: •
Standard and quality of ground and associated facilities.
•
Level of community access to the ground.
•
Council maintenance requirements.
•
Proposed use of the ground.
•
The ability to charge an entry fee.
Where a lease agreement for a facility will result in little or no public access or use by external community groups, it would be expected that the negotiated lease fee would reflect such incidence of “alienation” of public open space. All costs associated with establishing the lease will be charged to the applicant. Seasonal Allocation Fees should be calculated to recover a percentage of the direct expense to Council of maintaining all sports grounds in the LGA for which it is responsible. A target up to 20% expense recovery is recommended, thereby providing an estimated 80% subsidy to the community for the provision and use of these facilities. The estimated total costs to be recovered will be divided according to the sports grounds classification. This ensures an equitable balance between the fees charged and the quality of facilities being allocated to clubs/associations. The following guidelines should apply:
Final Report.doc
•
A sliding fee scale will be applied in accordance with the level/standard of sports grounds (the higher the standard, the greater the maintenance requirements, therefore the higher the fee).
•
No differentiation between summer or winter users.
•
No differentiation in fees for the use of grounds for training or competition.
•
No differentiation will be applied to clubs which play home and away fixtures, that is, a club which plays at home only every second week will receive no discount off the total fee for the use of the ground.
•
The number of teams that actually use a sports ground will have no bearing.
•
Where two groups share the use of a ground during a particular six month season, each will be charged 50% of the seasonal fee (or any alternative split agreed to based on the level of use by both groups).
•
The expense recovery target will be applied to all seasonal applicants regardless of their level of use of facilities.
•
A phasing-in period for any new user fees will be provided, particularly where user fees are projected to increase by an amount considered “out of reach” of a user group in a 12 month period.
•
Council may choose to align fees and charges (and any discounts) with target groups identified in Council’s Social Plan. © Stratcorp Consulting 2005
Page 71