Sudbury Babe Ruth Sudbury Little League Proposal for

Sudbury Babe Ruth Sudbury Little League Proposal for Development of Recreational Fields at Melone Property September 7, 2010

Melone Property – Current Sandpit Cell tower Private residence

Scope of Proposal This town-owned property offers an exciting opportunity to build a unique, revenue generating baseball field complex. There is also ample space for multi-use field that benefit other user groups, as well perfect site for affordable housing 2 Regulation baseball fields (grass, 90’ diamond, 375’ outfield) with 10’ perimeter fence and bleacher capacity to allow for paid admission 2 Little League baseball fields (grass, 60’ diamond, 200’ outfield) with 10’ perimeter fence and bleacher capacity to allow for paid admission Ample parking Perimeter walking path (~. 75 mile) Space for significant affordable housing project Space for multi-use field space including the possibility of: -Rectangle field for lacrosse, football, soccer, field hockey -Skating rink Space for playground, basketball courts, tennis courts etc.

Scope of Proposal Wetland buffer

It’s on the Agenda The Melone property is on the CPC agenda for recreation projects according to the facts document distributed on March 26, 2010

Sudbury Baseball - Current Fields Sudbury Babe Ruth – served 320 players over three seasons in 2009, 242 players in 2007. 32% increase in players with no increase in available fields. SBR shares the three fields with: Lincoln-Sudbury varsity team; Post 191 Legion team; Curtis Middle School team; Sudbury Little League T-Ball (Sat mornings); Men’s League baseball (Sun mornings). This represents over 500 players. Current fields: • Feeley Field, Raymond Rd – §Feeley field is below the water table. Most years it is not available until Mid-May. Feeley can be closed for days after a heavy rain. This creates a field shortage and several times during past summers our competitive teams have played home games on the road. §Feeley also has no bathrooms. SBR pays for a porta-potty every year. §SBR has invested in outfield screens, new shed and tractor for additional maintenance. • Haskell Field, Hudson Rd – §Haskell field sits amid a huge lacrosse/soccer complex. §Parking, concessions and bathrooms are distant or non-existent. We receive complaints about players and parents using woods abutting the field and neighborhood for bathrooms. §SBR invested over the past three years to improve this field with a temporary fence, a new shed and a batting cage. • Curtis Field, Pratts Mill Rd – §Only available after school and school sports programs are over. Has no baseball amenities. SBR invested in new shed. No bathrooms or concessions. Lincoln-Sudbury HS fields are not available to SBR without advance permission from the school. There is no opportunity for self-maintenance, and fields are sporadically groomed in summer. Not under Park & Rec purview.

Sudbury Baseball - Current Fields Sudbury Little League – served 1513 players over three seasons in 2009, 1528 players in 2007. Basically flat, but given these extraordinary numbers field issues have been a lingering problem for SLL for many years. Also our main field at Featherland is shared with Men’s softball, which poses a safety issue and general incongruity of purpose for the complex. Current fields: • Featherland Field, Concord Rd – §Three 60’ diamonds and one for younger ages. Full concession stand §SLL invested in two batting cages and a new shed. §Excellent condition • Loring Field – Woodside Rd §One 60’ diamond with limited outfield due to woods. §Poor condition • Noyes Fields, Concord Rd – §Two 60’ diamonds conjoined in the outfield. Renovated by SLL. §Fair condition. • Nixon Field, Concord Rd §One makeshift : 60 diamond §Very poor, makeshift baseball field • Crime Lab Field, Horsepond Rd §One makeshift : 60 diamond §Very poor condition, not a baseball field Sudbury Little League also uses Smith Fields and Codman Field in Lincoln, all in fair condition, one Smith field has a safety hazard with a softball pitching rubber in the middle of the field.

Sudbury Baseball - Current Field Issues Sudbury Babe Ruth: • Has two reliable fields for 500 players including five other user groups. • Feeley field is not reliable. It can be off-line for weeks. • LS fields are not readily available to SBR • 90 foot diamond was intended at Mahoney Farm property but was never delivered due to water table issues. Babe Ruth has not received any new field in recent memory while other users groups have benefitted from new turf field at LS and Cutting farm. Sudbury Little League: • Has three viable fields at Featherland for over 1500 players. • All other fields are inferior, out of town, and even a safety concern Both leagues experience a shortage of field slots during their busy seasons. What is compromised is practice time. Games are a priority over practices, so players are not able to improve their games. This is one of the missions of Sudbury Baseball, to provide quality instruction and practice time. Our current fields do not allow for this. Cutting Farm was supported by $960, 000 of CPA funds for one field with no paid admission possibilities, no concessions. Sudbury Baseball is asking for $1. 7 million for four fields (average $425 k per field, half of Cutting) with quantified revenue generating opportunities.

Advantages of Melone Property for Recreational Use Site well suited to proposed use Good drainage for recreational fields & limited residential impact for lights Effective use of land No encroachment of wetland buffer needed. Preserve vernal pool and brook frontage. Baseball fields preserve treeline Multiple fields share infrastructure Well, irrigation, lighting, concession building Ample room for affordable housing 8 lots (1 acre min) with Rte 117 frontage with shared use of utilities Room for other users Multiple users with field/space needs can also be satisfied by turning this land into a sports complex.

Beneficiaries Sudbury Baseball (new fields): • Sudbury Babe Ruth – 500 users • Sudbury Little League – 1500 users Sudbury lacrosse (potential new field and/or acquisition of Haskell) – over 500 users over multiple seasons Sudbury soccer (potential new field and/or acquisition of Haskell) – over 1000 users over multiple seasons Conservation walking path – entire population Hockey rink – entire population Use of land for affordable housing – entire population

Revenue Opportunities This proposed field complex offers several revenue generating opportunities for the user groups involved: • Concessions – Featherland park complex generates $30, 000 annually with four active fields and no outside users. Our estimates for concession revenue is $35, 200 annually • Field Rentals – Primary users will be Sudbury user groups, but on off times the fields can be rented by Park & Rec to outside user groups such as AAU programs, Park leagues, Men’s leagues, etc. It will also open up Feeley field for rental use as well. Estimated revenue $4, 000 annually. • Sponsor opportunities – üTraditional opportunities such as outfield signs, sponsor of scoreboard, sponsor of press box, bleachers, sidewalk bricks, etc. üBank sponsor opportunity – ATM on site üGrocery store opportunity – ready-made dinners sold nightly in concession stand • Estimates for sponsor revenue - $8, 000 annually

Unique Revenue Opportunity Paid admission – There are very few field complexes in the Eastern Mass area that offer the opportunity for paid admission with ample bleacher seating for tournaments and special events. Lelacheur Park & Memorial field in Lowell host many MIAA Tournaments. The Legion State Tournament was held at Campanelli field in Brockton. Example: The Mass. Legion State Tournament in 2010 was held for five days charging $5 admission every day. Eight teams participate and play at least two games each. There is one admission fee each day. Assume each team has 75 fans, that’s 1200 tickets the first two days and another 900 for the remaining days total. That’s 2100 tickets sold and $10, 500 of revenue just from one tournament.

Field Revenue Execution Sudbury Baseball will hire a full time position for Field Administrator. We will also create an independent Field Complex Board of Directors whose purpose will be to oversee all functions of the complex and track and drive revenue. Proposed aspects of Field Administrators responsibilities: • Oversee field maintenance and cleanliness • Stock & order food / beverage for concession area and oversee all concession functions • Execute and maintain all corporate sponsorships • Solicit field rentals and tournaments • Schedule all events • Collect and bank all revenue, and keep updated balance sheet. • Report to SBR and SLL boards as well as Town board on revenue forecasts.

Field Revenue Sharing The proposal is to share revenue of this field complex between the baseball programs and the town. An estimated formula is as follows: Gross monthly revenue -(minus) Field Admin salary - (minus) monthly Maintenance - (minus) Concession food costs and labor = Normalized Net Profit Town of Sudbury – Receives 70% of net profit Sudbury Baseball – Receives 30% of net profit The next slide demonstrates the full amount of money Sudbury Baseball plans to bring to this project over a ten year period. This includes capital expenses that we will absorb outside of CPC requested funds; fundraising efforts; and the revenue-generating items. This total is in excess of our request from CPC.

Sudbury Baseball Financial Contribution

Revenue Formula The unique opportunity for this recreational project is that it will be cost-neutral to the town, self-sustaining, and provide a revenue stream back to the town for discretionary use.

Other considerations • Affordable housing opportunity – this land is well situated to build affordable housing units with excellent access to Rte 117 and shared use of capital costs such as introduction of utilities (electric, water, septic, etc) • Boost to local business – Introduction of baseball tournaments and outside rentals will increase flow of out-of-towners to Sudbury. Effective marketing on site can drive new customers to Rte 20 businesses. • Preservation – Town-owned land remains intact, benefits the entire community and properly utilizes CPA funds for their intended use. • Community – this complex, with multi-use opportunities, will bring together the Sudbury community across user groups more than any current recreational complex in Sudbury.

Process and Progress The Sudbury Baseball field proposal committee has made significant progress in presenting our ideas and seeking approval from the town. To date we have accomplished the following: • Park & Rec board approval – On Tuesday August 31 the board unanimously voted to support our proposal for a baseball and multi-user complex on the Melone property • Town planner – we presented our proposal to Town Planner Jody Kablak and DPW Director Bill Place at the end of May. Both provided great insight and advice on proceeding forward. • CPC – We met with Chris Morley, chairman of the CPC, earlier in the year to seek his advice and perspective on the proposal. He also provided advice on proceeding forward. • Finance Committee - We have reached out to Jim Rao of the Finance Committee and requested to attend their Sept 20 meeting • Water District – We have reached out to Al Renzi of the Water district to discuss this project as they own property on this complex.

Goal and Timetable Sudbury Baseball would like to thank everyone who has guided us through this process to date. We are committed to creating a once in a lifetime community recreational center to Sudbury that will shine in Eastern Massachusetts and generate revenue for our town and its businesses. Through our own fund-raising and with the funds available from the CPA, we will take every step necessary to make this vision a successful reality. Our goal is to have a fully vetted proposal, complete with official blueprints and costs, for consideration by the CPC this October 2010. We greatly appreciate the time and consideration of the Sudbury Board of Selectmen, and we respectfully request that you support this proposal.

Request for funds from CPC