The March 28 Recreation meeting was spent discussing field fees and reviewing the Winchester Soccer Club and its public-private partnership model as a proposed approach for the proposed 195 Main Street parcel re-use.
At public comment Gretchen Dresens urged the commission to prioritize additional grass playing fields over an indoor complex, citing years of documented community need. Dresens referenced multiple studies through town funding, such as the Gale Associates field report and the Weston & Sampson open space plan, which supported the demand for outdoor fields. She noted that Special Town Meeting in October 2021 overwhelmingly approved a feasibility study for a grass field at 195 Main St. by a vote of 340 to 36.
In contrast, she said, there has been no comparable advocacy or research supporting an indoor facility, which she characterized as driven by private interests. Dresens raised concerns about Wayland Community Sports Center (WCSC) plans that indicate an intention to partner with private sports clubs as anchor tenants, which would occupy a significant portion of the facility’s schedule, particularly during peak seasons.
While the WCSC emphasizes affordable rental space for Wayland youth sports and community programs, the exact allocation percentages between private and public use are not explicitly stated on their official website. Dresens noted that in a presentation to the Select Board the WCSC said it would reserve 70% of use for for-profit groups and just 30% for Wayland youth sports, potentially sidelining broader community access. She also pointed out that the field options described will not fit on to physical space of 195 Main Street.
Field Use Fee Increases Raise Alarm for Summer League
Dave Burgess, co-founder of the Wayco Amateur Sports Development League with his mother Connie Burgess, warned commissioners that a $6,400 increase in summer field fees may threaten the future of the 18-year-old program. The 2024 season’s total budget was $11,377. The league serves approximately 125 Wayland youth aged 16 to 22 each summer, operating with minimal overhead to remain accessible.
Burgess requested a prompt review before the league’s April 15 decision deadline to secure fields. Chair Asa Foster argued that it was not unreasonable for young adults to pay the increased fees. The members discussed the impact of an approximate $4,000 impact on the Wayco budget and the youth being served before deciding to not provide an exemption to the increase in field use fees in fairness to other user groups.
Lessons from Winchester: Ownership, Debt, and Offerings
Himanshu Patel, former president of Winchester Soccer Club, detailed the private club’s development of a $15 million indoor-outdoor sports complex in 2021 on privately purchased land.
The Winchester Soccer Club, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) entity incorporated in 1980 that owns the facility located at Winchester Community Park (WCP), which includes a 70,000-square-foot indoor field house, an 11v11 outdoor turf field and 6v6 outdoor grass field. Management of the facility is handled by Teamworks of Acton, a private sports facility operator, under a partnership agreement with the Winchester Soccer Club and its affiliated club program, SFC New England.
The land purchase was around $500,000–$600,000 by the Winchester Soccer Club with accrued club funds. Total funding came from club reserves, community fundraising, private loans from high net worth individuals, and a mortgage through Salem Five Bank.
The former tannery site required remediation ($0.5-1 million) with a cap in one corner of the site and has ongoing monitoring. WCP remediated the former Tannery brown field site by removing 35,000 cubic yards of contaminated soils from the past operation of glue factory. They also removed and disposed of asbestos and other hazardous materials in the tear down of the on-site building.
Patel described the complex’s financial operation which has an estimated gross annual revenue of $2 million, a monthly 15 year mortgage of $60,000–$70,000 and a Teamworks management fee of 10–12% on revenue. The rental rates run to $1,000/hour for indoor space during peak winter months, November to March and drop in the off season with $175–$200/hour off-season for use of the outdoor turf fields.
The club’s facility is used primarily by their own teams during the school day (2pm-8pm) and is rented out to other organizations such as Boston Ski and Sports club in the evenings 8pm-12am and on weekends. BSSC is one of the nation’s largest and longest running social sports clubs for adults with a range of recreational activities for over 50,000 active adults in and around Greater Boston and 14 full-time dedicated staffers.
The Winchester Soccer Club serves more than 1,200 players locally on any given Saturday charging each player, depending on the age group anywhere from $150 to $275 dollars per player per season. They also have an additional 700 players in a regional club program, SFC New England, charging $2,700 per year. Patel emphasized that any surplus is reinvested into lowering fees or sponsoring community programs.
WSC offers Winchester Recreation free indoor space for up to half day programming before school lets out. Seasonally dependent, WSC pays WinRec to use their fields for league play on town fields. WinRec also owns their own building, a converted old elementary school where they run after school programs on a turf field and various courts.
Patel reported that they pay a percentage of revenue to coaches, for facilities upkeep, and to Teamworks. They share revenue with Teamworks and as a nonprofit use the money to lower costs for their players and sponsor local town sports. Teamworks will run summer camps with up to 200 kids a week using the indoor space which is popular on 100 degree days.
The SFC New England club program has 48 teams. Of the 1,400 plus kids who registered to try out for SFC, 700 kids were cut. Winchester Rec has 1,200 kids on the town teams.
Commission Weighs Appropriate Role
Commissioner Brud Wright questioned the applicability of Winchester’s model to Wayland, noting differences in land ownership, the absence of adjacent fields and information on the financial model from Wayland Sports Community Center group. Commissioner Leslie Stewart observed that Winchester’s success hinged on upfront capital and site control which Wayland does not currently possess. Commissioner Mark Norton pointed out that the Town controls the process, not WSCS group until a deal has been negotiated and Recreation should have a piece of the process.
Commissioners discussed but did not vote on whether to support or oppose any of the three 195 Main St. articles on the warrant for Annual Town Meeting.
