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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAP 2014-11-25 COMPLETE AGENDA PACKETCity of Tukwila Community Affairs & Parks Committee O Joe Duffie, Chair O Dennis Robertson O Verna Seal AGENDA Distribution: J. Duffie D. Robertson V. Seal D. Quinn Mayor Haggerton D. Cline C. O'Flaherty R. Turpin L. Humphrey D. Johnson TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2014 — 5:30 PM HAZELNUT CONFERENCE ROOM (formerly known as CR #3) at east entrance of City Hall Item Recommended Action Page 1. PRESENTATION(S) 2. BUSINESS AGENDA Foster Golf Links marketing plan update and draft 15 -year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Information only. Pg.1 Dave Johnson, Recreation Superintendent 3. ANNOUNCEMENTS 4. MISCELLANEOUS Next Scheduled Meeting: Tuesday, December 9, 2014 15• The City of Tukwila strives to accommodate those with disabilities. Please contact the City Clerk's Office at 206 - 433 -1800 ( TukwilaCityClerk ©TukwilaWA.gov) for assistance. TO: FROM: BY: DATE: SUBJECT: City of Tukwila Jim Haggerton, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM Mayor Haggerton Community Affairs & Parks Rick Still, Parks and Recreation Director Dave Johnson, Recreation Superintendent November 17, 2014 Foster Golf Links — Marketing Plan Update ISSUE Provide an update to the Committee on the Foster Golf Links (FGL) Marketing Plan and draft 15 -year Capital Improvement Plan. BACKGROUND In November 2013, staff presented information on ways to increase revenue at Foster Golf Links, including a Marketing Plan. In April 2014, we provided a follow -up. This memo and attachments provide an update on the status of those efforts along with a draft of a 15 -year Capital Improvement Program. DISCUSSION Staff has looked at ways to increase revenue, which includes a number of different methods including: Implement an updated Action Plan; Lengthen the golf season; and Improve golf course playability. Staff has worked to implement the Action Plan which includes programs to retain and strengthen our core golfers, and also includes strategies to engage lapsed golfers and create new golfers. Attachment A shows the Plan and it's progress. Staff has also prepared a draft 15 -year Capital Improvement Program (Attachment B) that outlines course improvements and equipment replacement based on life expectancy. RECOMMENDATION Discussion only. ATTACHMENT A. Foster Golf Links — Action Plan B. Foster Golf Links draft 15 -year CIP 1 2 Attachment A Foster Golf Links - 2014 Action Plan The vision of Foster Golf Links (FGL) is to develop a golf facility that creates a welcome environment and is a source of pride to the Tukwila community. The purpose of this action plan is to identify key ways to increase revenue through maximizing participation. By utilizing a mix of strategies and tools we can develop a targeted approach to increasing participation at FGL by each of these key user groups: Strategy 1: Retain and Strengthen Our Core Strategy 2: Engage Lapsed Golfers Strategy 3: Attract New Customers Strategy 4: Course Playability (new) In order to increase overall participation, FGL needs to create awareness of its value within its core customer base, and then build that awareness outward into the regional golf community where we can engage the lapsed golfer and attract new golfers to our product. In order to accomplish this, FGL must develop an action plan that focuses on collecting customer data and streamlining systems in the winter months, and shifts to actively marketing opportunities as we move into the high season in May. This will allow FGL to be ready to take on the new business it is sure to attract with a well - planned strategy to market to each of the key user groups. All the while, FGL is looking to improve the playability conditions of the course. 3 Strategy 1: Retain and Strengthen our Core Retaining and strengthening our core will be our top priority. According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), the core golfers, those who play more than 8 times a year, account for 57% of all golfers. More impressively, these golfers account for 94% of rounds played and money spent on industry related products and services. In addition, their greatest asset to any facility is their ability to serve as ambassadors for the facility and the game of golf. Statistics show that it takes 20 new golfers to replace the loss of one core golfer. As with most municipal golf courses, FGL relies heavily on our core customers. At FGL we have approximately 3,500 core customers. To further engage our core customers and to further increase participation, we will implement a Customer Loyalty Program by offering a FGL Rewards Card. By providing our core customers with discounts, hosting exclusive events, special sales and creating a more communal atmosphere, FGL will reward our core customers. 'BPIIf;DA " On its first year, the Customer I......oyalty IIDrogram yielded 362 participants and over $7,000 in revenue. We anticipate some moderate changes to the program for 2015 to make better use of our slen POS system. 4 Strategy 2: Engage Lapsed Golfers According to the NGF, 90 million Americans describe themselves as lapsed golfers. Those lapsed golfers offer several reasons for "leaving" the game. Money, time, the difficulty of the game, and family are the reasons most cited. By its own design, FGL is a great facility to re- engage the lapsed golfer. FGL recognizes that the primary audience for our facility is the beginning to intermediate golfer that is looking for a fun, walk -able course. Professionals agree that the more rounds someone plays, the more likely they are to keep playing, work on their game, and invest in new equipment. Strategies to engage lapsed golfers include: 1. Utilize existing systems to capture data to analyze frequency of play. Currently FGL utilizes 3 different systems for different data functions: o Golf Now - on -line tee time booking and marketing to the regional golf market. o Cybergolf - hosting of FGL website and also allows for online tee time bookings. o sZen — point of sale transactions and as a customer data tool. 2. Utilize the collected data to specifically market the PGA's "Get Golf Ready" program. Get Golf Ready (GGR) — is a group lesson package offered at an affordable rate. In order to promote this program, we will utilize the national marketing platform to reach the regional golf community, and develop specific marketing promotions, such as email blasts and social media, to our e -Club members, Rewards Card members and Billy Baroo's customers. ➢ Besides the lesson revenue stream created from the GGR program, what we are really trying to cultivate is a long term relationship with the golfer. The GGR graduate has been shown to have an 80% retention rate and will spend nearly $1,000 annually at the facility. 3. Develop specialized programs and packages for market segments. Specialized programs could include a mix of packages and events such as: o Opportunities to improve their game through individual and group instruction; o Opportunities for socialization through play and dine events; and o Opportunities for competitive play through leagues and tournaments that match up appropriate skill levels. Women golfers, senior /retiree golfers, youth and families are just a few of the market segments we would target with specialized programming. U DA" Through the use of the above systems, we have access to a customer data base to over 88,000 golfers. By using these tools, we have been able to broadcast weekly or 1-time specials to fill gaps in the tee sheet, segment or target market to a certain group (i.e. promote a weather update to those that play in Wednesday leagues), and are beginning to look at individual spending and playing trends and ways to market towards that. An example of how we've put this to work is our "if Man Special ". The excitement that comes with the Seahawk success has had a serious impact on our rounds played on game days. On their first Sunday game in September (an absolutely beautiful day), we had 2 paid rounds during the 3+ hours. Staff took this challenge as a marketing opportunity. Through our databases and using Social Media, we promoted our $12 Special. As a result of that, we have had over 50 rounds in each of the 3 subsequent game days. Using this data, we were also able to market and promote the IIDGA's Get Golf Ready" program. On 2014, we hosted 35 new golfers in this program and anticipate this to grow in 2015 and beyond. 5 Strategy 3: Attract New Golfers 1. Increasing youth access to golf is very important. With that in mind we will be working on the following initiatives to promote golf to youth in Tukwila: a. Develop a Junior Golf Academy program. The Academy will focus on developing interested and motivated junior golfers through a system of instructional clinics, camps and competitive play among golfers of similar skill level. The Academy will have a tiered system to identify and cultivate all levels of junior golfers. • Beginning and intermediate players begin in the camps and enjoy limited time on the golf course. Once they show that they are capable of playing at an acceptable pace, understand the rules and etiquette, and are motivated to better themselves they will be moved up accordingly. • Advanced players will compete against their peers to bring out the best in their golf play. By doing this, a stable of players competing in Washington State Golf Association events, high school golf and beyond. b. Develop a Golf Specialty Camp. Work closely with the Recreation Division staff to develop a golf camp to be included in their summer specialty camp program. The program can be a stand -alone golf camp, or it could be integrated into the existing summer day camp program. 2. Tournaments are a great revenue source and opportunity to develop new customers. In order to increase tournament and league participation we will: a. Develop a downloadable tournament package on the FGL website. This will allow each league and tournament to have their own site to promote their event. It also will allow us to collect valuable player data which can be used to reach out to golfers who do not generally frequent FGL. b. Develop an outreach plan. FGL will develop a plan to outreach to local businesses, community organizations, and networking groups including, but not limited to: • FGL Men's and Ladies Clubs • Billy Baroo's patrons and eClub members • Seattle Southside Visitor Services — area hotel guests • Rotary Club members • Southwest King County Chamber — member businesses & organizations • Starfire Sports — patrons and facility visitors 3. The development of specialized programs and market segments, as noted previously in Strategy 2, could also be utilized to attract new golfers to FGL. UPIIDA FGIO._ had over 25 juniors participate in our beginner youth camps this year. We also participated in the inaugural PGA Jr. Golf I......eague which allows us to field junior golf teams to compete against neighboring golf courses. Our first ever specialty camp provided an introduction of the sport of golf to 200 campers through the Camp t ukwilly program in the Recreation (Division. While staff are currently working on the tournament package information for the website, there has been a lot of focused outreach to a variety of organizations. Staff have forged a great relationship and partnership with the Men's and I......adies' Clubs, and Billy Baroo's in cross promoting services. We have worked to get FGIO._ added into the Southwest King County Chamber's Business II::)irectory. With the introduction of FootGolf (see below), we partnered with Starfire Sports on a marketing agreement. FGIO._ was the 1`'t course in King County and 2 "d in Washington to incorporate a new program, FootGolf, on June rm. FootGolf is a combination of Soccer and Golf. We partnered with Starfire Sports to market and promote in addition to using our existing database and social media tools. Ilt was also featured on the cover of Onside Golf magazine, was a feature story on the cover of the Tukwila Reporter, and an article written in "tempo IIJeporte. FGII._ has hosted a number of youth teams, the Seattle Reign women's pro team, and the Emerald City Supporters - The Seattle Sounders supporters group held a 90 person FootGolf tournament following by a Sounders viewing party at Billy II3aroo's. This soon-to-be annual event was their largest fundraiser in their history. 6 We incorporated 18 holes of Foot Golf onto the front 9 of the course. With limited tee time availability, Foot Golf at FG11... has logged over 1,000 rounds of play in 2014. Revenue from FootGolf, including merchandise and ball/cart rental exceeds $18,000. The vast majority of FootGolfers that have played have never set foot onto before. FootGolf at FGU is a great example of increasing access to recreation opportunities. 7 STRATEGY 4: Improve Course Plavability Participation Trends While the number of rounds played overall in the United States has declined in recent years, rounds played at FGL have steadily remained above the national average. The factors that influence golf participation include: • Course condition • Weather playability • Customer service As shown by the image below, participation at FGL is highest during the months of May through September. This can be attributed to better weather, the return of "snowbirds ", and the beginning of the league play season. During the shoulder seasons (March, April and October) participation levels are heavily affected by the playability of the course which is impacted by weather. In the low season (November — February), participation on the course is primarily from our core customer. 10000 ...i 8000 6000 4000 2000 orici a 0111111 >a�JatJe�`JatJ , 4<r P �aJ • sec �ec sec sec eAce� oc �,e� oe`e� 2011 11111111112012 loin 2013 2014 UIIf, »IDA" 11611! One of the major challenges the golf course faces during the rainy season is the "softness" of the courrse. FGIL.... is a riverside course and with that charm also comes the reputation for being a wet course in the winteir. After multiple days of precipitation, the course becomes too wet to mow the fairways and maintain the facility to our high standards. With the wet surface and tall grass the playing conditions become less than desirable. This year, we began a long-term commitment to drying out the golf course with our aeration program. The new Core Aerator allows us to begin a topdiressing pirogiram to keep the course healthy and more playable in the early spiring and late fall and cireate a better environment under the playing surface. I3y aerating the tee boxes, fairways, and trouble aireas we cireate space for better drainage and growing conditions. immediate results can aliready be seen on the aireas which have aliready been aerated through the spiring and summeir. Tee boxes and green surrounds are much heathieir and dirieir. We will continue to work on this pirogiram to help lengthen future playing seasons. �w�xml dal 11111 Ip 11110),11 0,0,0 Illl��ll"i1ul� U 119 111111111111 1111111101,, fore 8 II1IIVVVVVII IVV 111 1111111 1111111 111111 E0 1i1.11.111.11,11,I11.11.11.11.11.11.11.1111111111111.1111 With our "core golfer" inventory depleting during the winter months, we have to do our best to retain those golfers that are willing to brave the elements. One of the biggest issues we face is golfer dissatisfaction in the amount of golf balls they lose as they plug in the soft turf. Once again we met this challenge with a unique solution. Earlier in the year, the maintenance staff came upon several boxes of "lost golf balls" that had been stored on their shelves for the last 10 years. We offered a few of these golf balls to each of those that played through the wet conditions. The response was overwhelmingly positive. "Never heard of a golf course doing this before", "Really?!", "Wow, that is really nice", were just a few of the responses we heard during that 10 day period. Ot really helped mitigate the customer's perception to the conditions. Ot also allowed them to leave with a "wow" moment from their Foster experience. Foster continues to adapt to the weather conditions. After nearly a month of daily rain, we are now faced with the next challenge...frost delays. Those beautiful cloud•free nights with temperatures 36 and below are not fantastic for the golf course. Frost can be a mortal enemy to grass. Grass is almost all water, at the right temperature the water in the grass cells freeze and form "frozen dew" on the blades. Of you were to walk on the grass blades while they are in this state, the blade would shatter and over the next 48-72 hours the grass would become brown wherever someone had stepped. On addition to the winter month sunlight opportunities, the end of daylight savings time, and now morning frost delays we have had a serious impact to our tee time inventory. Recently, the starting tee times for that given week were 9am 9am 7am llam. We will continue to look for opportunities during this newest challenge. 9 10 Attachment B 15-year CUP FGL has several greens that have been in use since the course was built in 1925. While nostalgic, the greens are not built to modern standards — they have a poor root system, don't drain well, and are not very smooth. In addition to contributing to soft playing conditions, the older greens require more maintenance time and resources to provide a surface the meets the expectations of the golfers. Over the next 15 years, FGL will be re-building 6 greens and their surrounding areas, rebuilding bunkers to improve drainage and playability, and replacing lifespan capital items such on pond liner, water heater, etc. We have incorporated this into the proposed 2015-16 budget and beyond. 12 Foster Golf Links CIP - Master Plan List 11/19/2014 11:18 AM DRAFT Project Estimated Cost Life Exp. Comments 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 CAPITAL BUDGET 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 1 Pond Liner 70,000 20yrs 30,000 40,000 2 PVI Boiler 45,000 15 yrs 45,000 3 Carpet 20,000 14 yrs in good shape 20,000 4 Drainage pump #18 fairway 15,000 10yrs 2008 15,000 18,000 5 River irrigation pump 23,000 10yrs 2009 23,000 6 Irrigation pump /panel - pond 65,000 20yrs 2012 7 Cart Barn Heater 7,000 13yrs 7,000 8 Weather Station 16,000 8yrs 2014 16,000 9 Exterior Painting 25,000 10yrs 25,000 10 Awnings 15,000 20yrs 15,000 A Design green /bunker renovation 20,000 20,000 B Bunker rebuild & drainage 121,000 16 bunkers 10,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 30,000 C Green renov. #1 & #3 120,000 60,000 60,000 D Green renov. #6 & #7 120,000 60,000 60,000 E Green renov. #10 & #13 120,000 60,000 60,000 SUBTOTAL 50,000 50,000 45,000 45,000 60,000 60,000 38,000 43,000 60,000 60,000 40,000 60,000 60,000 30,000 18,000 BALANCE w -5,000 -5,000 10,000 10,000 -10,000 -2,000 -7,000 10,000 0,000 -10,000 0,000 0,000 -20,000 -32,000 M: \Council - CAP COW CAS REG■Golf Marketing Plan CAP - 91.12.94 ■Attachment 2b - FGL 15 yr CIP.xls 14