Athletic Field Study

Project Overview

With a high percentage of the population under 18 years old, Sammamish athletic fields are in high demand. The Parks, Recreation & Facilities Department (Parks) receives continued feedback from field user groups that there are insufficient facilities to accommodate their needs. In addition, through the 2018 update of the City’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan (PRO Plan), sport fields’ enhancements were identified as a priority recommendation for the Sammamish parks system.

With a rapidly growing population, limited undeveloped, sizeable and relatively flat land and the loss of a field, additional athletic facilities are needed. Appropriate field types and surfaces need to be identified as well as consideration of conversion of fields from natural to artificial turf.

Parks is pursuing this comprehensive study to provide a thorough account of how many and what type of fields are sufficient to maintain a desired level of service, both now and in future years.

Scope of work

The scope of work for the Athletic Fields Study included four major components: researching national and local sports and population trends, analyzing current field usage within the City, conducting a survey for the leagues and organizations that utilize Sammamish fields, and evaluating the quality and capacity of existing facilities.

As a part of the facility capacity evaluation, the consultant and project team identified opportunities for potential improvements at existing facilities. Improvements that were anticipated to have the greatest increases to capacity while emphasizing cost-saving measures were identified as “high-priority.” Planning level cost estimates were created for the high-priority facilities.

Findings

The Athletic Field Study incorporated several methods of research and analysis to gain a large picture of the needs and demands of athletic fields within the City in order to guide the Parks, Recreation and Facilities Department in prioritizing future improvements and construction to increase overall playing time while emphasizing cost-saving measures.

General recommendations from the study include, but are not limited to, supporting multi-sport opportunities, sport sampling, and companion sports, developing small fields to support casual play, partnering with local school districts, renovating existing facilities for multi-use, improving overall playing conditions and field quality, emphasizing youth sports, and searching for creative opportunities.

Through the analysis of existing field capacity, opportunities for improvements were identified at each facility in Sammamish. The project team identified four “high-priority” facilities that are anticipated to provide the greatest increases to capacity if the improvements are implemented. The high-priority facilities are as follows:

• Beaver Lake Park
• East Sammamish Park
• Inglewood Middle School
• Blackwell Elementary

See a summary slide deck of findings presented by 2's and 3's to City Council.