FAQs
Warning - this is a long read. However, we have placed the most frequently asked questions towards the top of this list. If you have further questions not answered below please feel free to email us at bulldogfields138@gmail.com.
1) More Taxes?!? How much is this going to cost me in additional taxes?
Nothing. This will be completely privately funded using several different methods:
Community Fundraising Efforts
Corporate Sponsorships
Grants
Advertising Revenue
Seriously. Nothing.
2) OK. Then HOW are you going to raise this money? Give me specifics.
Great question. Here’s the thing - this HAS been done before through the exact methods listed above. Let’s break these down one-by-one -
Community Fundraising Efforts. Two examples - first Independence. They started “The 333 Club” to raise $1M to turf their stadium. The basic premise was asking people in the community to donate $333 a year for three years. Did it work?
Second example - Bellevue. Similar to Independence they used a community fundraiser that asked families in the community to commit to $100 a year for ten years. They looked for 1,000 donors. They got it. They were able to build a field house AND turf their stadium: https://www.bellevueschools.org/1/Content2/48
Point is - we believe a well organized campaign within this community can raise a similar amount of funds.
Corporate Sponsorships. There are way too many examples to name them all, but Sponsorships are usually tied to an asset. In most cases it is Stadium naming rights or Field naming rights. Things like Press Boxes or even a room in a field house have been sponsored. If you are one to need proof - here you go: https://www.google.com/search?q=high%20school%20naming%20rights
However, one of the most exciting assets that can be leveraged is our location next to I-80 and the flight path into Hopkins. Both of these assets can be leveraged into significant dollars and we will be looking to do just that. There are some hurdles that we need to overcome but it looks like we check all the boxes in order to leverage these assets. Again, if you are one that needs proof: https://www.post-gazette.com/local/north/2008/01/27/Dick-s-pays-Cranberry-2-2-million-for-sign-in-Graham-Park/stories/200801270236
What are these assets worth? We are working on quantifying that right now - but suffice to say we are talking significant dollars.
Grants. There are several foundations / grants available for turf installation, track improvement and discounts on turf materials. Some grants that are available include:
USA Football
US Soccer Foundation
NFL Foundation Grassroots Grant
Cleveland Browns
Keystone Sports Construction
USA Track and Field Foundation
Nike Community Impact Fund
HUD - Community Development
There is bad news / good news here. Bad News - We are one of a handful of high schools in the area that do NOT have turf fields. In fact, there are only two teams in our conference - us and Amherst. Good News - there won’t be a lot of competition for Grants.
Advertising Revenue. It is amazing how little amounts can add up to significant revenue drivers. Bellevue for example charges $3,000 for 3 years for an advertising spot in their stadium. They generate $60,000 in revenue every 3 years. Advertising in all areas where it makes sense will be explored to drive revenue. It will be done tastefully, but there are significant opportunities to increase our advertising revenue to pay for the ongoing maintenance and care of these facilities.
3) What’s the School District’s role in this?
When this ball starting rolling in late spring of 19, several things needed to be addressed with the school before anyone would lead the charge. There have been some pretty blunt conversations with the School Board and school administrators. The message has been quite simple - kids need to come first. The previous position by the District has been that kids in grades 7-12 have priority. As a result, students in grades K-6 have missed out. All of the youth sporting associations have stories with their interactions with the school that did not demonstrate that the District was supportive of ALL kids. These transgressions had to come front and center for things to move forward.
The school listened. They agreed with A LOT of the points being made. The school board was EXTREMELY unsettled that there is a perception in the community that the school district does not care about the playing conditions of those fields, and therefore the children using those fields. Dr. Lloyd, the Superintendent, is committed to this project and has volunteered to help in anyway. He indicated that he will ensure that the message is received loud and clear by those that work for the school system. He said, “the first community partnership a school district has is with its families. While we can’t go back and fix the hurt feelings, we can own it, move forward and do some great things for the kids and families in our community.” He believes the previous issues were due to poor communication and a clear understanding of the problem.
They WANT to fix the problem. They are willing to help and support however they can. But there are limitations - mainly $$$.
In the end of June 19, there was a School Board meeting where two things were asked by us and were AGREED upon by the Board -
1 - For the formation of a Sports Committee whose charter will be defined to improve communication, coordination, scheduling and maintenance of all school owned playing fields. This Committee will include representatives from all youth associations utilizing fields, school administrators, and other officials.
The main point is to bring transparency and collaborative decisions to the process. There is a need to question methods and motives and to look how we can improve. This is an action-based committee.
The other point was this Committee would have purview of the new facilities being built to ensure the ENTIRE community gets fair access. We’re not busting our butt to raise money for just high school athletics or just sports teams. Everyone should get to play - from senior citizens, to non-athletic clubs (e.g. Band), to all our youth organizations (Soccer, Baseball, Lacrosse, Football).
2 - For a select group of individuals to go raise the funds to pull this off.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the support of all members of the School Board and Dr. Lloyd in regards to these issues. These are tough facts to face, especially when being confronted directly. There was no defensiveness, nor deflection. Just ownership and willingness to fix the issues - big and small. Even if we aren’t able to pull this off, the relationship between the school and our youth associations (and therefore our children) has dramatically improved. Bottom line - the ENTIRE School Board and Administration has been VERY supportive and we wouldn’t be able to begin this journey without their support.
- Joe Singleton
4) Who is involved? Who is driving this bus?
This Initiative started when board members from the Youth Associations - Football, Lacrosse, Soccer and Baseball met together one night in April at Razzles and started moving things forward. Joe Singleton and Robert Lara have been leading the charge. Josh Nowak, Mike Sislowski, Ryan Mezinger, Bob Wikle, and Jill Lukes were all part of those initial kick off sessions. Many others have joined since. You can see all the community members involved on this site.
5) What about the indoor sports like basketball and volleyball? They have needs and issues too?
Again, fair points. However, the pressing need right now are the outdoor fields and that is taking priority. The long-term vision is to keep this Initiative moving forward similar to other communities. Milan for example started with their field house, when they finished that, raised funds for a wrestling facility.
Scheduling and access to gyms should dramatically improve due to two things: 1) With turf field and a field house, baseball and lacrosse can use those facilities to alleviate congestion in the gym. 2) The Sports Committee should be able to address and improve communication and scheduling regarding the gym.
6) What about long-term sustainability? I heard that you have to replace turf every 10 years? Who is going to pay for that? How about the utilities for the field house? Maintenance? There just isn’t an upfront cost for these things, there are long-term costs and commitments that need to be accounted for. Surely you didn’t think of that?
Yeah, we did. There’s an outline of how we approach this, and we’ll be filling out that outline with details on how we ensure the school doesn’t get saddled with additional maintenance costs. Here’s the general approach:
Costs savings from moving to turf field from grass. Grass fields are expensive to maintain. The annual costs to maintain the High School stadium are approximately $26K. With turf - the costs drop to $8K a year - an $18K a year savings. Take that times 10 years - and that’s $180K in savings that can be applied to maintenance and being allocated to improving the grass fields that will remain or put away for the eventual turf replacement in 12-15 years.
Ensuring there are funds allocated from the capital raise for maintenance. Turf fields need special equipment like sweepers, brooms and rakes. There are disinfectant costs. The funds from the capital raise would be used to ensure the proper equipment is procured.
Contract Terms. As you’ve seen above if FAQ #2 - the general length of contract terms for sponsorships is 10-years. That means a fresh round of funding can be secured at that time. If done right, these assets can be leveraged to not only maintain these new facilities but continuously improve our athletic complexes for the foreseeable future.
Advertising Revenue. A recurring revenue stream that can be used to fund maintenance and utilities.
Rental and Tournament Revenue. With expanded facilities, we can rent these facilities out by the hour or host weekend tournaments that drive tens of thousands of dollars over one weekend.
7) How much is this all going to cost? It seems like we’re talking several millions of dollars. What happens if you can’t raise all the money?
Yes, we are talking about several millions of dollars. We are working on refining costs and are pulling together a group of folks who specialize on these kind of things (you can volunteer if you have that knowledge). However, we keep coming back to the fact that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel here and there is a lot of public information on these costs. Remember, we aren’t first - we’re actually very, very late to the game.
Generally speaking, and these are ballpark numbers:
Turfing the High School Stadium - $800K
Field House Project - $1M - $2M
Middle School Complex - $2M - $3M
Baseball Field Improvements - $70K
Ancillary Improvements - $250K - $500K
These costs may come down, or go up as we get into the details.
As far as what happens if we can’t raise all the money - we prioritize. High School Stadium is our first priority. From there we can make adjustments - maybe we don’t have as large of a field house or we only turf one additional field at the middle school.
If we get to this point that means we have a great problem -we’ve had success raising money and are now looking at how to deploy that capital.
8) Can you give me specifics about the non-profit?
We have formed a new non-profit entity named the Olmsted Athletic Commission. This was established in August of 19. We are a non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status. Our EIN is 84-2817808.
Our non-profit bylaws are very specific to how projects are approved (by board vote).
If you are interested in our corporate bylaws you can view them here.
Serving on the Olmsted Athletic Commission Board of Directors is:
Joe Singleton (President), Robert Lara, Jill Lukes, Ryan Mezinger, Dan Martin, Josh Novak, Walter Schlothauer