Parks director reports youth sports revenue, previews cashless payments and season passes

Mr. Stearns, the Jonesboro parks director, gave the committee an update on recent Parks & Recreation activities and finances. He said the department ran a six‑week youth basketball program with nearly 975 participants, hosting 37 games each Saturday and recording about 7,717 paid attendees. "We had nearly 975 kids signed up for basketball," Mr. Stearns told the committee. He said overall net revenue from youth basketball after expenses was about $3,030.92 and that concessions performed strongly.

Mr. Stearns also summarized two volleyball tournaments held earlier in the year. He said the tournaments generated roughly $70,000 in revenue: the larger 'icebreaker' returned a net profit of about $995, while the 'We Care' tournament lost about $7,500, leaving the two‑tournament set with an aggregate loss Mr. Stearns estimated at approximately $6,505.

Responding to a council member question about payment access for residents without credit or debit cards, Mr. Stearns said Parks & Rec would pilot a cashless option with the finance department ("we are actually demoing a cashless option tomorrow with the finance, department") and hoped to offer the cashless option by April 11 while continuing to accept cash at gates and concessions. He said the department does not currently plan to change entry fees but will evaluate pricing over the next six months for potential adjustments.

Mr. Stearns said the department will offer family season passes for field sports and both monthly and seasonal passes for the pool to provide savings over individual tickets. He offered to provide the committee with a detailed expense report for the tournaments if members wished to review it.