Counting courts
Drop your jaw when you see it…BASKETBALL!
**Source RCSC Facilities Activity Report for January and
February 2022 details each center’s use by sport/club and activity with an
overall total.
Obvious, isn’t it? Our
Long Range Planning Committee didn’t have a clue what was needed at the
Mountain View renovation. Still don’t.
RCSC
Basketball and Pickleball Courts Potentially Affected
·
Lakeview
Recreation Center
Layout Here
4 tennis courts may be converted to 8 to 14 pickleball courts, read more from Sun City Pickleball Arizona AZ Here
·
Marinette Recreation Center Layout
Here
20 pickleball courts 1 basketball half-court – will not change
·
Mountain View Recreation Center Layout
Here
7 pickleball courts, all to be removed in the Mountain View
renovation
1 full basketball court, multiuse two-story gymnasium proposed in the renovation
View master plan video Here
·
Lakeview, Marinette, and Mountain View Courts
Combined Total
Current 4 tennis 27 pickleball ½ basketball
Proposed 0 tennis 28 – 34
pickleball 1 basketball
I was outraged a few basketball
enthusiasts had gotten this far requesting a gymnasium!
Then I thought back to our last
RCSC board meeting, 03.14.2022. Video Here
Several men took to the podium supporting their sport, basketball, and the
proposed gymnasium during Member Comments (the last time we’ll have that
opportunity). They were well-spoken, and
each presented different reasons the gym would benefit Sun City and our
residents. Their voices deserved to be heard:
v
Build it now!
Need to stay ahead of the curve.
Not just for basketball but multi-purpose.
v
Basketball benefits best way to get in shape
for an old person.
v
It was disrespectful and disingenuous to put
it on hold in January 2022.
v
Vital that we do have one for social, fitness, and sporting.
v
Alarming this began five years ago, a lot of
opportunity for comments, end the moratorium now, proceed with remodel as
planned.
v
I am young now, still want to be young when
it’s finished. Do it!
v Make the gym come to life. A win for Sun City!
Is it possible the basketball count
is so low because there’s only one half-court available for play? Or that it’s
outside?
Are the basketball players in our community going elsewhere? Hmm, something to think about, but do we really need a two-story gymnasium?
The RCSC board is playing a
numbers game off the courts. They don’t
think Members are watching.
- Ignoring usage data that does not support the building of a gymnasium anywhere in Sun City?
- Back-room negotiations offering Sun City Pickleball Arizona Club more courts by converting Lakeview tennis courts without including Lakeview in the process! Not all board members were aware of the negotiations. Read more in the Pickleball meeting recap post.
- As we near the end of a 90-day moratorium, what will the new estimated cost be for the Multi-Million Dollar Mountain View project?!? Already over $40 million, that’s $40,000,000!!
- Holdover board members are succeeding in surpassing last year’s despicable performance.
Member
focused director, Steve Collins, at the 03.14.22 board meeting said,
“I am not opposed to the basketball court and
theater. It’s a matter of timing and location.
Slow down. Don’t tear anything down without having the money.”
While not a fan of the board’s numbers game sport, I
am watching.
Chris Tracy- Advisory Panel Sun City Advocates
3 comments:
Wow, Chris great information. I am happy to know you are watching.
This is important information. There should be a process for new buildings and remodels that shows due diligence in utilization, other possible uses, feasibility, parking, disability access, etc. There sure doesn't seem to be consistent information over the projects I've seen discussed or started.
It is a total mystery to me why the full RCSC board is so far behind the eight ball when it comes to racquet sports. Do all 9 members not pay attention to the facility usage? The most recent Facilities Activity Report shows usage for Jan+Feb: 16,770 for pickleball, 2,894 for tennis, and 418 for hand/racquetball.
Yes, all stakeholders should be consulted and involved. However it is absurd to see little used tennis courts at both Mountain View and Lake View while the pickleball courts are full with many players waiting. It is not at all unusual to see all 7 Mountain View courts full with 12+ waiting while both tennis courts are empty. The pickleball utilization will be significantly higher if the number of pickleball courts is increased!
Let's do some simple math. RCSC has 2 tennis courts at MV, 4 courts at LV, and 10 courts at Bell. Total 16 courts for 2894 uses or 181 uses per tennis court. RCSC has 202 courts at M and 7 courts at MV. Total 27 courts for 16,770 uses or 621 uses per pickleball court. Basic math says that the court assignments to tennis and pickleball are wildly out of whack!
It is interesting to consider utilization numbers and analytics to make decisions. Sounds great, but. Years ago we proposed every activity, event and club had scanners to record solid numbers and recorded electronically. Push back was significant from management and now we know why. They had no capacity from an IT standpoint. They were more interested in putting cash in the bank than investing in our future. Of course, there’s the other problem, total transparency is terrifying to them. Time to leave that all behind and embrace a new more open style of governance. BTW, where’s the utilization numbers for lawn bowling and archery?
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