Elite high school football players from across Saskatchewan can use the Yara Centre for another next three years after their organization signed a new deal with the City of Moose Jaw.
During the Nov. 8 executive committee meeting, city council unanimously accepted a recommendation to approve a new three-year licence agreement between Selects Football and the municipality for use of the venue. Further, council also authorized the mayor and city clerk to sign the agreement for the city.
The recommendation is not official until council approves it during a future regular meeting.
The current agreement between the two organizations expires on Monday, Nov. 15. The new agreement – the second to be signed – runs from Nov. 15, 2021, to Nov. 14, 2024.
The parks and recreation department expects the football organization to book at least 500 hours during the 2021-22 year, which could generate more than $43,350 in revenue for the city. This revenue would be $6,000 more than last year.
Selects Football has been a prime tenant of the Yara Centre since 2018, and as part of its licence agreement, receives priority booking privileges for annual turf use allocations and dedicated office and storage space, parks director Derek Blais explained during the meeting.
The organization has roughly 200 athletes from across Saskatchewan and runs several rosters and teams. Most of the programming occurs from November to the end of February, and during those months, the group schedules each athlete for 50 hours of on-field training and film and class time at Yara Centre.
The Selects have run programs in Regina and Weyburn but found that Moose Jaw was the best location for winter programs due to its central location and the ability to run all programming in one building, Blais said. Besides hours booked at the Yara Centre, the city hall also expects the Selects’ programming to generate money in the community via sports tourism through families shopping, eating at restaurants and staying in hotels and motels.
“They truly feel that the Yara Centre is the best fit for them … when holding their weekend camps,” he continued, adding the organization will hold seven weekend camps during the winter.
Some of the clauses in the new agreement include:
• The Selects will receive a 15-per-cent discount on all minor facility rates and fees if it books 500 hours of turf time each season; if not, the regular rate will apply
• This discount will result in the city charging the sports organization $86.70 per hour for a quarter section of turf as compared to $97 per hour. However, the municipality will not lose revenues since the number of hours booked will increase significantly
• The Selects must pay rental fees in 12 equal monthly instalments starting in December of each year
• The organization will receive exclusive use of a dedicated office and equipment storage space that only the group’s personnel can access during regular hours
• The Selects can rent extra multi-purpose space and use the fitness centre for camps and will receive the 15-per-cent discount on those rates as well. However, they will not receive a discount on annual memberships
• Every year the group will provide Blais with a copy of its most recent year’s audited financials within 30 days of its year end
• The Selects must carry $5 million in commercial general liability insurance and $2 million for tenant’s legal liability insurance
• Either party may terminate the agreement upon one year’s written notice, while default termination clauses – for bankruptcy, for example – have also been incorporated into the document
The next executive committee meeting is Monday, Nov. 22.
