Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Parks Department Honored for Braemar Field Partnership

Edina, Minn., Oct. 31, 2016 – The City of Edina Parks & Recreation Department won a 2015 Award of Excellence for its innovative partnership to create Braemar Field.

The award from the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association honors “outstanding achievements” in the category of Sponsorship and Partnerships.

For more than 10 years, the City of Edina worked on ways to build a multi-use sports dome that would serve the needs of more than 6,000 Edina youth participating in sports. There were two hurdles: Finding the right location and guaranteed financial sustainability so operating costs wouldn’t require substantial subsidies from the City of Edina.

That led to a unique agreement between the City and the youth athletic associations that needed such a facility. The Edina Baseball Association, Edina Football Association, Edina Lacrosse Association and Edina Soccer Club all committed for 20 years to purchase a set schedule and number of hours they would use the facility, which would be built near Braemar Arena. They also committed to an annual $30 per participant fee that goes to a fund for repair and replacement of the turf field and sports dome skin.

With the financial guarantees in place, the City of Edina went ahead with the project. Braemar Field opened in December 2014. The youth associations have been working together since to share the facility and coordinate hours.

In Braemar Field’s first year, the hours booked exceeded the commitments from the associations. The user fees also raised $85,800 for the repair and replacement fund.

Braemar Field continues to operate successfully thanks to the partnership forged to create it.

“The way in which we partnered for this facility is a model for other communities,” said arks & Recreation Director Ann Kattreh.

The Parks & Recreation Department applied for the award to honor the leadership and solution-based support received from the sports associations and the efforts of City of Edina staff, elected officials, user groups and community members to make Braemar Field a reality.

For more information, visit BraemarField.com or contact Kattreh at akattreh@EdinaMN.gov or 952-826-0430.
 

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The City of Edina
4801 W. 50th St., Edina, MN 55424
mail@EdinaMN.gov 952-927-8861

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