OCEAN CITY – A new beach sand soccer tournament proposed for August was approved this week, but not before a larger discussion about the town’s fee structure for special events.
The Mayor and Council had before them on Monday a request to approve a significant sand soccer tournament on the beach on August 6 between Dorchester Street and 3rd Street. The promoter already produces a popular beach sand soccer tournament in town and has dates set for June 24-25.
The beach sand soccer tournament has been a big success in Ocean City each summer for decades, drawing thousands of participant and spectators, but the proposed August 6 date is a new event. The request on Monday was part of the council’s consent agenda, which, as the name implies, is typically approved as a matter of course. However, before the council could vote on a motion made by Councilman Mark Paddack, Mayor Rick Meehan weighed in on the proposed event.
“First, I fully support the event and sand soccer in Ocean City,” he said. “I remember back in the 1990s when I presented the first sand soccer tournament to the Mayor and Council. There were some concerns about it at that time, but it certainly fit our profile and really helped business in town and created room nights for Ocean City. When you look at it today, it is still as popular as it was then.”
However, Meehan said he crunched the numbers on the proposed soccer tournament and questioned if it was time to revisit the town’s fee structure for special events.
“It’s still a fabulous event for Ocean City, but it is a for-profit event,” he said. “When I look at their application, they to have 6,500 participants. If you look at their registration form, it says there are 10 players to a team. If you do the math, that comes out to 650 teams. If you look at the application, the fee for each team is $500. Give or take 50 teams, that comes out to $325,000.”
Meehan applauded the success of the sand soccer tournament, but questioned if it was time to revisit the fees the town charges for this event and other special events going forward.
“Look, I want to see everybody make a profit and that is a great sport and something we want to continue, but I think it’s time to take another look at our fee structure,” he said. “The fee structure for this tournament is $1,285. When look at where their revenue is compared to that and the time period at the same fee, I think it’s time to look at this again.”
Meehan said the proposed beach sand soccer tournament falls after the start of a new fiscal year, providing an opportunity to take a closer look at the special event fee structure.
“This tournament is not scheduled until August 6, which is in the next fiscal year,” he said. “It’s not in this fiscal year, and I know there are other tournaments prior to that.”
The mayor related a recent visit to Virginia Beach and their town-operated sand soccer tournament.
“Recently, I had to privilege to take a tour of the sports complex in Virginia Beach and they talked to us about their sand soccer tournament,” he said. “They take it on themselves, which, at some point, might be an option for us, but that’s not what I’m alluding to today. The proceeds from that tournament actually funds all of their field operations. It is a significant revenue source that helps support the rest of their sports facilities.”
For those reasons, Meehan suggested re-evaluating the town’s current fee structure for special events.
“I would suggest holding the date for the sand soccer tournament, but remand this back to special events, recreation and parks and the city manager to take a look at this for next fiscal year,” he said. “We should look at a fee structure that is certainly fair to the promoter. It looks like a great revenue generator, thank goodness for them, but I think it could be a better partnership if that revenue is shared to some degree.”
Paddack said he was willing to amend his motion if that was the desire of the council. Councilman John Gehrig, who chairs the recreation and parks committee, said it was worth revisiting.
“We’ll definitely discuss it,” he said. “My issue is they are paying our normal fees with no discount. They happen to be doing a great job. Like you said, in Virginia Beach, they are their own promoter and they make all the money.”
However, Gehrig said it might not be fair to change the fee structure for the sand soccer tournament when the promoter has already filed an application based on the existing fees.
“I feel like they are willing to pay our fee 100%,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair really to say we’re going to be charging you more money. I am happy to review it and we can discuss the fees, but they should apply to everyone. They same fees should apply to everyone who uses the beach.”
Meehan did not disagree entirely, but said it might be a good time to re-evaluate the existing special event fees.
“The business has changed, and times have changed,” he said. “Twenty-five years ago, this wasn’t the profit center it has become. We should also adapt to change. I want them to be extremely profitable, I just think there is an opportunity here to recognize the change and the value and how this can benefit the town and help pay for other events and the costs we’re accumulating. It’s in the next budget year. They have tournaments in June and I’m not saying adjust those, but this is a new event they are applying for.”
Gehrig used the analogy of a bait-and-switch practice for a store purchase.
“If we go to a store and we’re going to buy a product, as soon as they see we’re going to buy it, they double the price,” he said. “We’ve already picked the product out. We can revisit the fees, I just think they’ve done everything they need to do.”
Council President Matt James said he tended to agree.
“They have already filled out the application and it’s based on what we have in place now,” he said. “If we’re going to approve the event, we should approve the event and have a discussion about fee structure for future events. They have done everything that’s expected of them. I don’t think we’re going to approve the event and then charge them double or whatever because they are good at it.”
Meehan said he just thought it was a good time to revisit the fees.
“I just want to get it to the forefront,” he said. “We can address this at some point for future events. I think this warrants being looked at.”
Paddack at one point changed his original motion to approve the consent agenda as presented to omitting the sand soccer tournament until the fee structure was revisited. After the discussion, however, he went back to his original motion.
“They operated in good faith,” he said. “Councilman Gehrig and the Council President are correct. I’m going to leave the motion as it stands, and we’ll take a look at this for the future. It’s a great tournament that brings a lot of young people to town and it’s good for the south-end Boardwalk businesses.”
The council ultimately approved the consent agenda as presented with the sand soccer tournament in August included on a 6-0 vote with Council Secretary Tony DeLuca absent. The council also voted to remand the current fee structure to staff, the recreation and parks committee and the city manager for further review for future events.
