The city of Eureka will take over the business side of the Eureka Sports Association (ESA).
“We are absorbing all operations from ESA starting in 2023,” Eureka Parks and Recreation supervisor Luke Hollman said. “We are looking at it as entering a new partnership with them.”
The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to take over the operations of ESA at its Sept. 6 meeting while approving the Parks and Recreation Department’s supplemental budget.
ESA board member and umpire trainer Mike Hubbard said the move does not spell the end of the organization.
“ESA is not just ending and handing this over to the city,” he said. “There’s a transition process that will keep the board involved, while at the same time having the city start taking on major leadership responsibilities.
“We’re going to make sure the transition goes really well so the outcome is the best possible product on the field for the teams, the best possible experience for the kids in the region.”
Hubbard said eventually, the city will likely take over running the sports program completely, but in the short term, the ESA’s board and volunteers will continue to be involved.
“The idea is we could bring the two together with the city to do the things it’s best at, like payroll, full-time staff to answer questions, registration,” he said. “Let the volunteers have more focus on the teams themselves on some of the qualitative things like coaching.”
“The first big switch is all of the registration,” he said. “The city is now going to do all of the registration, which means all of the fees that will be paid for your sports will go toward the city.”
Hubbard said his group will no longer be charged fees to rent the city’s athletic fields.
Eureka Mayor Sean Flower said the ESA board will likely become an advisory committee and that volunteers will continue to be a part of the mix.
“It’s more of a transition from pure volunteer to more of a city sponsored (organization) with a ton of volunteer help,” Flower said.
ESA currently offers boys and girls soccer, baseball and softball.
Hollman said the city’s Parks and Recreation Department offers a beginner basketball program for kindergartners and first graders and hopes to add new sports.
“Having us oversee all sports will really open the door for other sports such as flag football or lacrosse,” he said, adding that the city’s athletic operations will likely operate under a new name, Eureka Youth Sports.
Flower said he hopes to invest some of the money from the water and sewer sale to Missouri American Water Co. into updating and adding athletic fields.
“Now we can reinvest that into the youth athletics in the area and create really nice facilities for all these kids and the parents,” he said.
City officials are looking into adding two soccer fields at Kircher Park.