BRACEBRIDGE — Members of the local baseball community say they can live with higher tournament fees being established for the town’s new baseball diamonds, but they don’t want fees to increase much further after that.
The town’s general committee recently approved rates for baseball tournaments taking place during the 2010/ 2011 season at Peake Fields at Verena Acres.
The new $4-million facility, located off Taylor Road, is expected to open later this year.
The suggested fee structure will see adult ball tournaments required to pay $210 per diamond per day for the first day of a tournament held in 2010. This fee would rise to $215 in 2011.
Subsequent adult tournament days will cost $150 per diamond per day in 2010 and $156 in 2011.
Adult tournaments taking place Friday through Sunday at Peake Fields will cost $380 per diamond per day during 2010 and $390 in 2011.
Tournament fees at Jubilee Park and Kerr Park currently cost $176.38 per day. Subsequent days at Jubilee are $88.19.
Other types of tournaments are covered under the new free structure as well.
In 2010, youth ball tournaments will cost $130 per day per diamond for the first day of a tournament. This cost will rise to $133 in 2011.
Subsequent youth ball tournament days will cost $100 per day per diamond in 2010. In 2011, the fee rises to $103.
Finally, youth ball tournaments taking place Friday to Sunday will cost $240 per diamond per day at Peake Fields in 2010. In 2011, they will cost $246.
While the fees are new, the schedule does aim to reward well-attended tournaments by providing a chance for cost reduction. It all depends on a tournament’s predicted economic impact.
For instance, if an adult tournament’s attendance levels are expected to make an impact of between $21,000 and $60,000, the first day tournament fee would be reduced to $168 in 2010 and $172 in 2011.
Fees decrease even further if tournaments have higher impacts.
In the case where a tournament’s expected financial impact is $101,000 or higher, the fee for its first day would be only $84 in 2010 and $86 in 2011.
Ted Conway, vice-president of the Bracebridge Men’s Rec League, said the new fees are “more reasonable than what they were initially planned to be.”
“At first we were going to pay upwards of $1,300 per weekend to rent all the diamonds,” he said. “Now we’re looking at $600. The town has modified them to be more reasonable and it encourages you to bring in more teams for a bigger economic impact for the community.”
He and others like Sue Flowers, president of the Muskoka Ladies Softball League, don’t want the fees to rise much past 2011 rates.
“If it stays (where it is) then it will be livable, but if it keeps making these 25-30 per cent jumps every year, then in three to four years it will be too much,” said Conway.
Some concern still exists regarding the regular use fee slated to be in effect at Peake Fields, which will affect minor ballplayers for the first time starting this year.
Conway said Bracebridge Minor Ball currently does not pay a fee for using the diamonds at Kerr and Jubilee parks.
According to the new structure, minor ball will have to pay $7 per hour per diamond at Peake Fields in 2010 and $10 for the same diamond per hour in 2011.
“I’m concerned the fees being imposed are going to force minor ball to stay where they are and not use the nice facility we’ll have,” said Conway. “It would be nice to see minor ball using it at the same rate as they do at Kerr Park. They will still have that chance to play at Kerr Park or at Monck Public School (for free).”
Town of Bracebridge CAO John Sisson addressed the concerns Monday.
He said any future tournament fee increases would have to be discussed first at council.
“We have not predetermined any fee increase related to Verena Acres after 2011,” he said. “We’ll have to see what our expenses are and how we can work with the ball user groups.”
Sisson also addressed Conway’s minor ball concerns.
“We want all the ball user groups in Bracebridge to be using that facility,” he said. “We’ll work with ball user groups to make that happen.”