Sports Field Allocation Standard

Department: Parks Services
Issued: June 2008
Revised: January 11, 2021
Responsibility: Director, Parks Services

Introduction

The City of Brantford Parks & Recreation Department strives to provide quality facilities in a fair and equitable manner for leisure and sporting activities for the citizens of Brantford and surrounding areas.

Purpose

The purpose of the Sports Field Allocation Procedure is to address the ongoing demand for sports fields offered to user groups by the City of Brantford. Due to an increasing demand for quality field space for youth, adult and semi-professional teams, growth and development of new or expanding sports groups and limited fields, the allocation becomes difficult to accommodate.

This standard will outline the process by which sports field usage, distribution and allocation will be reviewed each year.

The procedures contained within will serve as a guide for the sports field allocation process and to more clearly define and communicate how fields will be managed, allocated and distributed.

The goal of this standard is to promote and encourage participation in field sports to the overall benefit of the community.

Procedures

Sports fields

Sports field are managed through the City’s Park Services Department. The City of Brantford will responsibly manage its sports fields to ensure optimum usage and programming and to reflect municipal directives and goals.

Sports field allocation and distribution throughout the City of Brantford will reflect population, group registration, utilization and participation patterns and trends, in addition to applying municipal, provincial and federal directives where required.

Sports Field Allocation and Distribution

City staff will review sports field allocation on an annual basis and give consideration to requests made from user groups with regards to allocation and location. The City of Brantford reserves the right to reassign sports fields annually as required in order to satisfy changing priorities, appropriate field usages and emerging municipal, provincial or national directives.

Scheduling priorities

Applications for the use of outdoor athletic facilities, which are received by the required deadline, will be processed according to the following priority listing:

Professional/semi-professional teams representing the City of Brantford
Community special events
Youth tournaments
Recreational tournaments
Youth leagues (1st Competitive; 2nd House League)
Adult leagues
New tournaments
Camps/Clinics
New leagues
Schools under Joint Use Agreement
Single game requests
Practice requests

Requests by a single applicant for a second tournament in the same category of scheduling priorities shall be considered after all other first requests by other applicants in that same category are applied.

Regulations and restrictions

The City of Brantford, Parks Services Department schedules the use of City and limited School Board sports fields through the issuance of a rental permit.
The permit serves the purposes below.

It confirms the use of a specific field for a specific period of time and specific cost.
It ensures the exclusive use of the field by the user group.
It binds the user group to terms and conditions as outlined in the permit.

Rental permit should be on site and available for inspection by a Department representative.

Permits are not valid unless they are signed by an authorized representative of the user group organization as well as the City of Brantford. By signing the permit, the authorized representative of the user group organization is acknowledging that the organization/permit holder agrees to be bound by the rules and regulations governing the use of City-owned and operated outdoor facilities. The authorized signature is responsible to ensure payment is made in full as outlined in the rental permit.

Permits holders wishing to cancel or alter the agreement must follow established guidelines as outlined on the rental agreement. The City of Brantford will not be responsible for personal injury, loss or theft of clothing or equipment of the applicant, organization, or anyone attending on the invitation of the applicant organization.

The user group is responsible for all damages arising from the use of City and School Board sports fields.

All Permits holders must comply with Federal, Provincial, and Municipal By- Laws and regulations.

The user group shall be responsible for the conduct and supervision of all persons admitted to the sports field facilities and shall ensure that regulations contained in the permit are practiced.

The Parks Services Department reserves the right to cancel any permit temporarily or permanently as the result of any of the following:

As accommodation for special events;
As a result of breach of the rules, regulations or a City by-law;
Should the Department be of the opinion that the premises are NOT being used for the purpose(s) contained in the application;
In the event of inclement weather and/or unsafe playing conditions and/or mechanical failure and/or other unforeseen safety conditions
Should the organization fall in arrears with the City of Brantford

Sports fields

Sports field maintenance concerns should be directed to the Fields/Events Booking Clerk at fieldbookings@brantford.ca or Parks Services Central Booking Office, Call us.

Application process

Complete the Sports Field Tournament Application/Season Contract for Sports Fields Application. Submit the application to: Fields/Events Booking Clerk at fieldbookings@brantford.ca
Applications will be reviewed according to the criteria outlined in this standard.
Applications received after deadlines will be processed on a first-come first- served basis, providing suitable facilities are available.
Fields are deemed playable beginning May 1 and close October 31 at the
Discretion of the Parks and Recreation Department, depending ground/turf conditions.
Payment must be received in full prior to the start of the tournament/league season. Special application for monthly payment plans may be available, where payments for the first month of bookings are due on May 1 and payments for all months following are due on the first day of the month prior to the use of the fields. Payment by cash, cheque, debit or credit card can be made at the Parks & Recreation office at 1 Sherwood Drive, Brantford ON. Cheques are to be made payable to The City of Brantford.
Refunds will be given if written notification is received 3 days prior to the event as a result of changes or cancellations on the part of the applicant. Should the tournament organizer/league scheduler cancel the event and not notify Parks and Recreation in writing, the organizer will be required to cover costs incurred. A full refund will be issued in the event of the facility being unavailable/cancelled at the discretion of the Parks and Recreation Department (i.e. inclement weather and/or unsafe playing conditions).

Tournament applications submission deadline is February 15.

A $150.00 non-refundable deposit will be required per tournament application upon the receipt of the permit.
Allocation in previous seasons for a tournament is not a guarantee for similar consideration in subsequent seasons.
In the event that the original date requested is not available, applicants who provide alternate dates for their tournament requests will be considered before applicants in the same category of scheduling priorities who do not provide alternate dates. Rain dates may not be scheduled for tournaments.
Tournament schedules and lining requirements must be submitted to the Fields/Events Booking Clerk seven (7) days prior to the tournament start date so that the staff schedules can be coordinated.

Seasonal & Occasional Use Applications– Submission deadline is March 15

All User Groups holding full season permit must forward a schedule and lining requirements for games to the Fields/Events Booking Clerk for the duration of the permit.

Conflict resolution

Scheduling conflicts may occur from time-to-time for various reasons. Conflicts will be discussed between the groups and the Fields/Events Booking Clerk. If a resolution is not achieved then the decision of the City will be final.

Refunds

Tournament Bookings

In the event that inclement weather forces alterations or cancellation of a portion of a tournament schedule, applicants are required to give full details in writing of the schedule revisions to the Fields/Events Booking Clerk at fieldbookings@brantford.ca within 24-hours following the tournament. This will allow the appropriate fee adjustments to be made. Should notice not be received by the specified deadline, tournament fees may not be refunded.

Seasonal and Occasional Bookings

In the event of a rainout, the user is required to contact the Fields/Events Booking Clerk at fieldbookings@brantford.ca in writing within 24 hours of the rainout for rescheduling of the game(s). Requests for partial or full refunds must be made in writing to the Fields/Events Booking Clerk.