HomeMy WebLinkAboutSports complex Public Comment from Andrea Evans 3-14From:Andrea Evans
To:Agenda; Jeff Graff
Subject:Bozeman Sports Park
Date:Friday, February 28, 2014 9:27:27 PM
Dear TOP Committee and Bozeman City Commission:
I am a mother of two boys who absolutely love and live for soccer. They play soccer,
both indoor and outdoor, throughout the year.
Blitzz Academy Soccer helps my boys get great exercise, learn to work in a team
environment, be influenced by great coaches, and stay excited for the game.
Because of their love for soccer, our family spends most of the Spring and Fall attending
soccer events in Bozeman and other locations in the state. We travel to other cities
and discover new places in the state, spending money on hotel and food. We have
often said to ourselves," wouldn't it be great if Bozeman could keep some of this
revenue"? The towns we travel to on the weekends are full of soccer families,
sometimes making it difficult to find lodging and restaurant space.
Bozeman is extremely lucky to have an opportunity to improve our parks and trails
system via our recently passed parks and trails bond. Our town is unmatched in Montana
as a high quality place to live and I hope that as you consider funding the sports park
that you do so at a level that reflects that quality.
As you know we are significantly behind other communities in our state with regard to
supporting the demand for multi-use playing fields and currently have 10x the number
of players in soccer and lacrosse than we did when Bronken fields was donated and
developed 15 years ago to service 300 players. We must develop a sports park that
meets current needs and recognizes the inevitable growth of our town and youth sports.
The development of a high quality sports park that is capable of hosting large statewide
and regional tournaments is a must if we are to compete with other cities for the
millions of dollars of tourism related revenue associated with youth and adult sport
tournaments.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter and to your commitment to Bozeman's
Parks and Trails. I encourage you to cast your support to fund at the greatest level
possible a high quality sports park that will reflect a commitment to our youth that will
be a source of pride for our city. We want to stay in Bozeman for some events and can
only see the benefits to a wide range of people of a Sports Park to our community.
Sincerely,
Andrea Evans
-- Andrea Evans