3 School Dist 112 Soccer FldUse3
CITYOF
952.93219OO
952 9.~-. 9I 52
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Todd Hofflnan. Park and Recreation Director
Jerry Ruegemer. P, ccreation Superintendent
February 16, 2001
SUB J:
Request to Utilize City Soccer Fields tbr Fall School Season:
School District 1 1 '~
School District 112 successfull5 passed a school ret'cron&ma in November of
1999. Included in the referendum was a list of athletic field improvements
totaling $935.000 to bc perlbrmed throughou! the dislrict, ri'he bulk of thc
improvements will be completed at the Chaska lfigh School and Chaska
Middle School campus.
Initially tiao school district planned on phasing lhe field improvelnents.
lesseninu tine impact on lheir curricular and extra-curricular activities.
l loxxevcr, the school district has determined that it would be more cost
effective to complete the work all at one time. With tine development and
redevelopment of these identified prqjects, the school district will be without
playing and practice facilities lbr tiao ninth grade B and JV boys and gMs
programs (8 teams). The athletic fields are to be completed and read3 for pla3
tbr the fall 2002 season
The school district is requesting to use the City of Chanl',assen's soccer fields
For their upcoming 2001 school season, from August 13 to mid-October.
During the pre-season the request is for four hours per day, and during the
school year it would be from 3:00 - 5:30 p.m. In conversations with park
maintenance staff, scheduling the pre-season practices in the afternoon would
be ideal, allowing work on the field to be completed during the morning. Thc
school year request of 3:00 - 5:30 p.m. is good because the fields are sitting
empty until the community based youth soccer programs start for the evening.
The school district is looking for practice and game locations at either the
Recreation Center, City Center Park, or the fields at Instant Web. Practices
could be facilitated at City Center or the Recreation Center and games could
be played at Bandimere Community Park or at Lake Ann Park. I'm
recommending the above locations because they are in'igated and with the
increased activity, park maintenance crews can re-establish any disturbed or
damaged turl:
Todd Hoffman, Park attd Recreation Director
February 16, 2001
Page 2
I am concerned about allocating specific locations at this point, because the
fields are still very dry from last year's watering ban. The watering ban is
continuing this spring and the fields will have minimal water again until
approximately June 15. Once normal xvatering resumes the fields should
bounce back over time.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
In the spirit of cooperation, it is staffs recommendation that the Park and
Recreation Commission approve the request from School District 112 to
utilize the City of Chanhassen's soccer fields from August 13 to mid-October
2001. Staff'also recommends that specific locations not be designated at this
time. Staff' will work with School District 112 to determine the specific
locations depending on field conditions due to the watering ban and this
determination can be established far enough in advance as to not hinder
School District 112's planning for the upcoming fall school season.
G:\park~jerry'xSDist I 12soccerfldsrcq
Chaska
High
School
Mike Werner
Activities Director
545
Pioneer
Trail
Chaska
Minnesota
55318
e-mail
wernerm@chaska.k12.mn.us
Office
952-556-7130
Direct
952-556-7135
Fax
952-556-7139
School
District
Serving the communities of
eastern Carver County
through equal opportunity in
employment and education.
North Central Accredited
February 1,2001
Mr. Jerry Ruegemer
City of ChanhaSsen
690 City Center Drive
PO Box 147
Chanhassen, MN 55317
Dear Jerry:
The purpose of this letter is to request the utilization of soccer fields
owned or scheduled by the City of Chanhassen. The times xve would
need the fields would be from mid-August to mid-October of 2001.
As you may know, School District 112 will be undertaking major field
construction and renovation of existing fields in the near future. We will
be constructing four new multipurpose fields, as well as renovating three
practice fields. It was determined that doing all of this work at one time
would be the most cost effective means for the school district.
The bids have gone out for this project and work is projected to begin in
early spring of 2001. The fields will be seeded in early Fall, however,
they will not be usable until the fall of 2002.
As a result, during the upcoming season, we will be playing our varsity
boys and girls soccer games at our football stadium. We need practice
space and game fields for our lower level high school teams. Seventh
and eighth grade soccer will be "squeezed" into existing areas on the
middle school campus. Specifically, we are in need of practice areas for
our boys and girls soccer program comprised of eight teams, (four boys
and four girls). This would be the equivalent of four to five fields, as full
fields are not needed for practice. We would also need level playing
areas for our ninth grade B, and JV games (both the boys and girls).
Depending on game schedules, the practice areas could be used for
games on many days.
Our practice begins on August 13, 2001 and the last game of our regular
season is in mid-October. During pre-season practice, we would like the
fields for approximately four hours per day. During the school year our
practice and games would be roughly from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM.
In looking at potential fields, the soccer coaches and I discussed the
possibility of using fields in City Center Park, Bluff Creek and/or Instant
web for practice and Banimere Park for games.
In the past the school district has worked closely with the Chan/Chaska
Soccer Association. When our fields are completed and ready for play,
we would again be willing participants in the cooperative use of fields
for this association. By the fall of 2002 we will have quality fields for an
expanded soccer program for our communities.
On behalf of School District 112 and our student athletes, I'm asking the
City of Chanhassen to "help us out" during this transition period.
Sincerely,
Mike Wemer, Activities Director
Chaska High School