Posted on: Sunday, April 28, 2002
ISLAND VOICES
Soccer facility already giving us what we need
By Manuel C. Menendez III
The referee should give Bob Dye a red card for committing a flagrant foul with his commentary on the Waipi'o Soccer Complex (March 24). As a soccer fan, player, and coach I'm bullish on the city's plans to develop this valuable community resource that promotes sports tourism. Contrary to what naysayers like Mr. Dye would have us believe, the complex has already shown it will pay for itself many times over.
At least 15 statewide, regional and international tournaments have been held since the facility opened less than two years ago, and another 14 are scheduled through next summer.
According to my calculations, by the time the American Youth Soccer Organization's national tournament is held in July, more than a million players, coaches and spectators will have visited the complex since it opened in September 2000. Included in this figure are between 10,000 and 15,000 local youngsters and their families who use the facility every weekend for their league play.
It's the city administration's policy not to charge local children and community leagues for the use of the fields. Accordingly, tournaments scheduled by soccer groups based outside Hawai'i are a key part of the city's plan to recover the cost of the complex by stimulating spending in our local economy.
The World Wide Peace Cup illustrates the point. Held last summer, the event brought about 2,000 people from nine countries to O'ahu, each of whom stayed a minimum of 10 days. All told, the Peace Cup brought $400,000 per day into our O'ahu economy — for a total of $4 million.
Other scheduled events are much larger. As many as 250 teams will compete here over a seven-day period when the National AYSO tournament comes to Honolulu in July. About 10,000 people will spend about $14 million in our hotels and restaurants. Once they've seen how terrific our soccer facility is, they'll be more inclined to visit us again, just as Peace Cup organizers have pledged to do in 2003.
These numbers indicate a favorable indirect return on the city's investment, and it's still very early in the life of the complex. Direct revenues will begin to flow when we develop a fee structure that allows us to charge for its use. A flexible fee schedule is being developed for presentation to the City Council.
The city decided against charging a usage fee after the first phase of construction. Rather, we wanted to use the new facility to stimulate sports tourism and economic activity. We wanted to allow athletic organizations to have a good look at our resources and to experience how well we could meet their needs as a first-class sporting venue.
Now that we've confirmed the regional and international demand for a facility of this caliber, the flexible fee structure will allow us to generate revenues directly from its use. Our plan is to forge a collaborative agreement with an operator in the private sector and develop the potential for new revenue streams from ticket sales, parking, concessions and signs.
The Waipi'o Soccer Complex has demonstrated its strength as an economic development tool. We are confident that it will show an equally strong revenue-producing potential with the assessment of appropriate user fees.
But we must never lose sight of its ultimate significance as a community resource for generations to come. This world class facility has brought joy to thousands of boys and girls on O'ahu who need new recreational outlets. We must never charge them to use it. Nor should we cave in to those who would deny them the pleasure of its use.
Manuel C. Menendez III is executive director in the city Office of Economic Development.
