YES: Oro Valley needs more, better sports fields at Naranja Park

Our support is based on the need to address current deficiencies. Since its incorporation in 1974, the town has built one new park and two new fields. During that period of time, the population has grown from fewer than 2,000 to more than 40,000 residents. The development of Naranja Park will make huge strides in addressing the critical need for fields and park facilities.

Our support of Prop. 454 is also based on the potential for Naranja Park to support a broad spectrum of users, not just youth sports. The proposed facilities will accommodate adult and senior recreation programs and events ranging from the Senior Olympics to the Special Olympics.

They will provide space for traditional sports, such as soccer and baseball, as well as non-traditional and emerging sports such as flag football, lacrosse, rugby and ultimate frisbee. It will also provide accessible walking paths, trails and playgrounds for those who are not involved in sports but want a safe and attractive place to exercise and play.

The prompt development of Naranja Park will also be a magnet that keeps dollars in the community and that brings important new economic activity to Oro Valley. Without local facilities, Oro Valley families are traveling to Maricopa County and elsewhere to participate in tournaments and events, and Maricopa County residents are NOT coming to Oro Valley.

As the outstanding success of the Oro Valley Aquatic Center has demonstrated, a quality facility can host regional and even national events and attract a large number of visitors to the town. These visitors spend money and contribute to sales tax revenues through their expenditures at Oro Valley hotels, restaurants and stores.

The bond-funded development of Naranja Park will also benefit the local economy by making the community a place where major businesses will want to relocate and a community where their employees will want to live.

The revenues generated over the next 20 years by a single business that moves to Oro Valley, bringing with it a hundred or more employees, would benefit not just local government, but also enhance the tax base that supports local schools.

Quality of life matters to those making decisions on business relocations. They will certainly consider Oro Valley if their families have access to a high quality recreational amenity, the type of facility that Naranja Park can be.

The Oro Valley Sports Alliance also believes that bond funding is the most appropriate way to proceed. It addresses current needs now rather than attempting to remedy existing deficiencies a decade or more in the future. It will also reduce the overall cost of developing the park.

There are significant inefficiencies in building a facility in 15 to 20 phases. Phases built in the future will also be more costly, due to inflation. Deferring the construction of the park also defers the economic and community benefits that will accrue to the Town of Oro Valley.

For these reasons, the Oro Valley Sports Alliance has endorsed the passage of Proposition 454. We encourage voters to make our community better, healthier and more attractive to new residents and visitors by supporting the bond and the timely development of Naranja Park.