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Assessment of Need 27CITY OF NEW BRIGHTON PARK AND TRAIL SYSTEM MASTER PLAN - DRAFT <br />Issues, Challenges and Needs <br />A summary of issues, challenges and needs was developed based on identifying existing city <br />athletic facilities, conducting stakeholder engagement, and an analysis of existing facilities. The <br />most commonly identified issues challenges and needs related to athletics included: <br /> »Outdoor athletics in New Brighton generally have issues with overall maintenance needs <br />and conditions due to poor underlying soils and drainage. <br /> »There is a lack of older youth and adult athletic facilities specifically for multi-use turf fields <br />and larger ballfields which are seeing increasing demands. Examples: <br /> »Irondale Baseball League is planning on enhancing their program to compete with <br />Shoreview Baseball. <br /> »Lacrosse programs (schools and associations) are growing and looking for additional turf <br />space. <br /> »Many outdoor city athletic facilities are spread out across the city parks which balances <br />access for the residents, but results in neighborhood parks being highly programmed with <br />insufficient parking available. <br /> »The lack of consolidated athletic facilities results in the inability to adequately accommodate <br />tournaments. <br /> »There is a desire for indoor turf space due to ongoing weather impacts and expanding <br />seasons of use. <br /> »Currently the School District and athletic associations primarily use a combination of schools <br />and parks located in Shoreview, with some use of Irondale and New Brighton sites, though <br />this may be impacted by increasing fees by the City of Shoreview. <br /> »Enrollment in the school district has increased, rather than decreased according to previous <br />projections, which results in: <br /> »The number of participants in programs continues to grow. <br /> »Expansion of school sites to accommodate students has resulted in a loss of some athletic <br />facilities (particularly outdoor ballfields and turf fields), but in some cases has improved <br />indoor athletic facilities (gym space, pools). <br /> »The School District, various municipalities and athletic associations currently have various <br />joint agreements in place for shared use of facilities. <br /> »The City of New Brighton primarily uses school gyms and pools for their recreation <br />programs.