Letter to the Parks Board

Dear Parks Department Board Members,

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this letter. I am writing today on behalf of Club Northwest, a local non-profit organization who has been listed as a historic user of West Seattle Stadium.

While researching this issue, we have come across important unanswered questions and issues that we feel should be addressed before the Board moves forward with the RFP process.

- The 2007-2012 and 2008-2013 Capital Improvement Plans both budgeted just over a million dollars for renovations to West Seattle Stadium. Why was this money not spent and where did it go?

- Charles Ng told the Delridge Council meeting that the Stadium would need to be closed if these renovations were not made. Yet many of the renovations listed in the RFP certainly seem be be desired but not necessary to maintain function of the facility. The Parks Department should address publicly which improvements are necessary to keep the facility open.

- The Parks Department should address the $3 million difference between what they deemed necessary in the Capital Improvement Plans and what is now being deemed necessary in the RFP. They should also address why these crucial and necessary improvements were not completed under project ID K733141 which ran from 2004-2006.

- The RFP mentions replacing the turf on the infield. We cannot stress enough that replacing the infield with an artificial surface will destroy the ability of the facility to host full-fledged track and field competitions. Millions of dollars have been invested to equip the facility to host high-level track and field competitions, including the construction of facilities for events such as the steeplechase and hammer throw which are not contested at the high school level in this state. An artificial surface such as field turf may allow rubber-tipped javelins such as the high schoolers throw, but the normal javelins thrown by collegiate, open, and masters athletes cannot be thrown on this surface. The footprint of the facility is such that it is not possible to install a full-length javelin runway elsewhere and have adequate room to throw the javelin. Therefore, replacing the grass field with an artificial surface will eliminate West Seattle Stadium from being in contention to host any serious collegiate or open track and field meets, which will effectively waste millions of dollars which were invested in making the facility up to par for these events. The most recent improvements to the facility were completed in the summer of 2007.

- It is also important to note that West Seattle Stadium is the only facility in the greater Seattle area with the ability to contest all track and field events. Even the University of Washington does not have the ability to contest hammer. The next closest facilities are in Bellingham and Tacoma. Yet there are hundreds of fields with artificial surfaces in the Seattle area.

- West Seattle Stadium is a site with a rich history. According to a survey conducted by the City of Seattle, the site appears to meet the criteria of both the National Register of Historic Places and the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Ordinance (http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd/historicalsite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=532826599) Replacing the grass field with an artificial surface would surely destroy much of the historic character of the facility.

- We are very concerned with our inability to provide input after the November 13 board meeting. The RFP is very vague and we fear that while many historic users have not completely opposed the idea, that elements will be introduced after November 13 that we would oppose, but we will have no chance to protest. Bait and switch as it were.

- We are also very concerned about the lack of notification to recreational users of the facility. Signs posted at West Seattle Stadium are dated October 30, posted well after the public hearing, and giving users less than 2 weeks to submit input. The information about the deadline for submitting written information to the Board has been removed from the website (or is no longer prominently displayed with the RFP). With the RFP currently posted, it is not clear to the public that they have the opportunity to comment on this issue, and they are directed to Charles Ng, not to Sandy Brooks. It is also important to note that the peak usage of recreational users at the facility is in the spring and summer when the weather is nice. Posting signs from October 30 to November 13 is a token effort that will reach very few of the public users.

- The current timeline allows private parties to begin operating West Seattle Stadium in April of 2009, which is right in the middle of the track season. This will make it very difficult for most historic users to schedule their practices and events at the facility. According to Doris Heritage at SPU, the Parks Department is no longer willing to schedule track meets for this spring due to the uncertainty of the situation.


In conclusion, Club Northwest urges the Parks Department Board of Directors to not adopt the current RFP and timeline. We urge the board to hold the Superintendent accountable to the questions and issues raised above. Once those issues are addressed, if the Board wishes to move forward with the RFP process, we urge them to adopt a timeline that does not transfer control of the facility until August 2009, so that the Parks Department can retain control of the facility and scheduling events through that time in order to minimize disruption to historic track and field users.

Thank you for your consideration,
Becca Gillespy
Team Manager
Club Northwest
http://www.clubnorthwest.org/