Sportxplex Update

In light of the recent article in the Wenatchee World about the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex owing back rent to Chelan County and some of your comments to my last post, I would like further clarify the relationship between the City, Waste Management, and the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex when it comes to building an indoor-outdoor sports complex on Grant Road.

The relationship between the City and Waste Management.

Some of you have expressed concerns that the money the City will receive from Waste Management could put to other uses. This is not the case. Although state law allows the City to enter into a hosting fee agreement with Waste Management, the City cannot impose a hosting fee agreement on Waste Management. The decision to enter into a hosting fee agreement with the City is voluntary on Waste Management's part. In this case, Waste Management is willing to enter into a voluntary agreement based on the condition that the City use the money to build and operate sports fields. If the City does not agree to this condition, there will be no hosting fee agreement with Waste Management. Thus, there will be no money to spend on other needs.

The relationship between the City and the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex.

The Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex is in the process of obtaining the rights to buy the site for the indoor-outdoor sports complex. If everything comes together, the plan is for the City purchase, build and operate the outdoor sports fields. The money to accomplish these tasks will come solely from host fees. The City will not be backing the project with any money that it receives through tax revenue.

When it comes to maintenance, the City is exploring several possibilities. One possibility is to lease the fields to a management team in exchange for a percentage of the tournament revenue. I would like to involve the Eastmont Metropolitan Parks District in these discussions on the best avenue to pursue. But once again, the costs of maintenance will not come from tax revenue.

In short, if the anticipated revenue from the hosting fees are not enough to meet the purchase costs, construction costs, and maintenance costs, the project will not happen. The preliminary calculations are that the project can be accomplished. But as I have said before and will probably say many times again, a lot of due diligence still needs to be done.

The indoor sportsplex will be completely owned and operated by the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex. Thus, the City of East Wenatchee will never have to face the problem of having to collect back rent. The success of the indoor sportsplex will rest entirely on its own merits. Like the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex, I have high hopes for the indoor sports facility. If it proves successful, the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex will profit. If it proves unsuccessful, however, the City will not be at any sort of financial risk.

I hope this answers some of your questions. The Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex is planning to put on a presentation to the City Council on May 13, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. I invite everyone to attend as it will be a great opportunity to have all the players under one roof and to have questions asked and answered.