by N. Bradford
Pearland leaders in 2024 will take another look at how the city’s growing number of athletic fields are used and who foots the bill for them.
“I personally would like to see 100 percent cost recovery, although I know that has not been our position in years past,” Councilman Jeffrey Barry said during an Oct. 23 workshop on capital improvements.
An outside consultant will evaluate the city’s agreements with sports associations, budgets, schedules, and cost recovery targets.
Recommendations from that assessment will be presented to city leaders in early 2024 for possible implementation in the summer, when agreements regarding sports fields are typically up for renewal.
Councilman Rushi Patel agreed regarding 100 percent cost recovery regarding athletic fields.
“Go back and figure out a way to pass these costs on to the end user,” he said.
Currently, the city’s cost recovery policies depend on the type of activity, Parks and Recreation director Carry Capers said.
Entry-level sports are subsidized at 50 percent. She said, “As you move into more advanced competition, those fall more at 75 percent cost recovery.”
Pearland has 16 baseball-softball fields and, as of 2025, will have 17 soccer or multipurpose fields — a fact that makes the city popular for large-scale tournaments.
“We’ve put a lot of park features on the ground over several years, and we’ve minimally increased what we’ve put into our maintenance and operations and recapitalization of those assets,” City Manager Trent Epperson said. “We’ve got to think about how we can recapitalize our parks as we continue to expand and add to those.”
