Ellensburg Fieldhouse Project (003)

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B *KING & ASSOCIATES LTD bk Recreation Planning and Operations Consultants Regional and National Trends for Facilities Recreation Facilities Developing and managing a variety of recreation facilities is the main focus of public agencies in larger communities. The types of facilities that are now being provided by parks and recreation departments have become more diverse, and expensive to acquire, develop and maintain. As a result, establishing a master plan is critical to determining facility development roles, timelines, and priorities. There continues to be very strong growth in the number of Americans participating in recreation and leisure activities. The Physical Activity Council in its 2022 study indicated that 76.3% of Americans (age 6 and older) participated in a recreation related activity in 2021 with 67.3% participating in a fitness sport. However, the study also indicated that 23.7% of Americans were inactive but this is a decrease from earlier years. International Health and Racquet Sports Association (IHRSA) reported that membership in U.S. health clubs has increased by 3.8% since 2019, and memberships in health clubs reached 66.5 million in 2021. Statistics also indicate that approximately 1 out of every 5 people of the U.S. population (or 27%) belong to or utilize a health club. On the other side, most public recreation centers attract between 20% and 30% of a market area (more than once) during the course of a year. All of this indicates the relative strength of a market for a community -based recreation facility. However, despite these increases the American population as a whole continues to lead a rather sedentary life with an average of 25.3% of adults across the country reporting that they engage in no physical activity (according to The Center for Disease Control in 2020). It is important to note that this percentage has been declining steadily since a high in 2008 of 36.2%. It is recognized that due to COVID 19, participation rates in indoor based activities plunged significantly in 2020 and 2021 as did recreation center membership and pass sales. However, in the last three years most public recreation centers have seen a strong rebound where use and revenues have met or surpassed pre -pandemic numbers. One of the areas of greatest participant growth over the last 10 years is in fitness related activities such as yoga, exercise walking, Pilates, and weightlifting. This is also the most volatile area of growth with specific interest areas soaring in popularity for a couple of years only to be replaced by a new activity for the coming years. Also showing particularly strong growth numbers are pickleball, exercise walking, volleyball, swimming, and running/jogging. It is significant that many of the activities that can take place in an indoor recreation setting are ranked in the top fifteen in overall participation by the National Sporting Goods Association. Due to the increasing recreational demands, there has been a shortage in most communities of the following spaces: 511 Page