The City will seek new management of its soccer fields following the recent announcement by the Richard Kane YMCA that it will discontinue its agreement to oversee use of the City-owned fields at the end of the current soccer season.
The YMCA has managed several aspects of the City’s recreational systems for several years and will continue to manage and operate City-owned Frontier and Sooner swimming pools, said City Manager Mike Bailey.
“YMCA leadership recently notified us that management of the City’s soccer program no longer aligns with their strategic plan. As a result, we are looking for another organization to take over that service,” Bailey said.
The YMCA will continue in its role of overseeing our pools, Bailey said.
“This will not impact City-owned swimming pools, as the YMCA will continue managing both Sooner and Frontier pools,” he said.
The YMCA also managed the Price Fields Sport Complex until last year, when the City outsourced operations of the baseball/softball complex to 4F Sports, a non-profit LLC formed and led by local coach John Pannell.
“The transition of the soccer program will be handled similarly to the handling of the Price Fields Sport Complex,” Bailey said. “A Request for Proposals will be issued soon, and a committee will review the proposals and make a recommendation to the council for final approval.”
During a City Council meeting held Monday, the council voted to approve an updated agreement with 4F Sports to take over management of Artunoff softball fields in addition to Price Fields, as the YMCA will no longer oversee activities at Artunoff.
“We are grateful to the YMCA for the service they’ve provided over the years by managing the use of our soccer fields and other facilities and programs,” said Bailey. “They have been a valuable partner to the City of Bartlesville and instrumental in helping us to meet our community’s recreational needs. We look forward to continuing our partnership with them through their oversight of City-owned swimming pools.”