City of Mesa Parks Recreation and Community Facilities '24-'25 Annual Report

FISCAL YEAR 2024 / 2025

MESA CITY COUNCIL

Mesa operates under a charter form of government with citizens electing a mayor and six councilmembers to set policy for the City.

The Mesa City Council believes that its people, not leaders, are what makes a City great and actively works to encourage citizen participation in the decisionmaking process. Whether it is through neighborhood meetings, advisory boards and committees, telephone calls and letters, or email, the Mesa City Council sets policies based on the input and needs of its citizens.

PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD

The Parks and Recreation Board is composed of 11 people appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the Council for staggered terms of three years each. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board shall advise the Council on the operation and development of all City parks and recreational facilities and on the recreational programs of the City.

Troy Campbell (Chair)

Brent Maldonado (Vice-Chair)

Nina Fader

Cali Goldsby

Marie Johnson

Benjamin Manning

Melanie Narish

Orchidia Peterson

Krista Rowley

Jeff Rush

Michelle Streeter

MISSION

We contribute to a healthy and vibrant community by providing exceptional experiences and services to those who live, work and play in Mesa.

COMMITMENT

• Being responsible stewards of parkland, facilities and finances, and transparent in how we manage these resources.

• Providing safe spaces and places for people to enjoy and recreate.

• Working together to focus on services that meet the ever-changing needs of our community.

Adult Sports Teams Registered 643

After School Program Visits

35,857

Red Mountain Membership Visits

139,552

Swim/FlowRider Lessons Taught

Park Ramada Reservations

2,662

Sports Field Billable Rentals

9,750

Completed Work Orders for Parks 7,890

Gallons of Water in Our Pools

5,571,212

Rounds of Golf at Dobson Ranch

Park Ranger Visits to Parks

27,785

11,500 Tennis / Pickleball / Volleyball Participants

Total Developed Park Acres

2,362

89,420 Volunteers

1,979

Youth Sports Registered Participants

966

Summer Camp Registered Participants

4,752

90,642 Volunteer Hours

Mobile Recreation Visitors

23,540

37,413 Attendance at City Special Events

121,558

WHO WE ARE

We are the stewards of five community recreation centers, nine aquatic facilities, four fishing lakes, three dog parks, two professional baseball stadiums, as well as the Convention Center, Amphitheater, The Post/Neon Garden, Tennis and Pickleball Center, Golf Course and Cemetery. We maintain over 2,000 acres of developed parks and open spaces which includes 209 city parks and retention basins.

DEPARTMENT WORK GROUPS

The Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PRCF) Department is comprised of four divisions including the administrative team. These work teams provide comprehensive yearround support, programming, and maintenance for a wide variety of facilities throughout the City of Mesa.

ADMINISTRATION

The Administration Division manages critical business support functions such as finance, public outreach, social media platforms, information technology systems, grant writing and implementation, and human resources.

PLANNING AND OPERATIONS

The backbone of PRCF, Planning and Operations Division, is responsible for being the stewards of City recreational facilities by laying the framework for and executing projects and maintaining these facilities to high standards. The division is comprised of landscape, aquatics, sports fields, parks maintenance, and project management.

RECREATION

Our Recreation Division offers yearround opportunities including aquatics, tennis and pickleball, fitness and outdoor programs, fishing, inclusion services, community events, adult and youth sports programs, afterschool programs, and day camps when school is out of session.

COMMERCIAL FACILITIES

Our Commercial Facilities Division manages our Convention Center, Amphitheatre, The Post/Neon Garden, City Cemetery and, along with the management company Paradigm, oversees the Dobson Ranch Golf Course. This division also contains the Citywide Special Events Office that oversees special events in parks and across the City of Mesa.

AQUATICS

Once again, the aquatics program experienced an impressive year. We benefited from the experience of nearly 90% of staff returning to operate our aquatics programming. This amazing trend is due in large part to our popular Jr. Lifeguard (JLG) Program, our high training standards, and our ability to offer eight certification classes to the community. The JLG is a volunteer program that helps youth gain valuable knowledge and credit for future certifications and job training success. On average, there are 310 JLGs per season, and they contribute nearly 18,500 volunteer hours to the aquatic operations throughout the year.

We welcomed more than 590,000 visitors to the pools during the year. Nearly 800 lap swimmers visited the pools 15,000 times to enjoy the water, and our partners in Affiliate Youth Groups had nearly 260,000 visits during their practices. Water Exercise was popular again this year with 1,702 participants. Instructors were able to provide over 11,500 learn-to-swim and FlowRider lessons. There were 2,731 youth participants across swimming, diving, artistic swimming, and water polo recreational teams.

The City of Mesa Aquatics Department, held several high-profile events, including the annual Roctober Classic USA Water Polo Tournament, the annual Lost Dutchman Swim Meet, the Special Olympics Swim Meet, the Arizona Senior State Swim Meet, and the College Club Swim Nationals. In partnership with local youth sports teams, we also held 21 other major competitions. In total, we welcomed more than 88,565 spectators and athletes from across the country and internationally.

Mesa pools also hosted several fun and special events for the public. We offered Dive-in Movies, the famous Pumpkin Splash, Freedom Tie-Dye, and our inaugural Father’s Day Flop. In addition, over 164 private pool parties were hosted.

We are proud of the environment that has been created at all of the youth sports programs offered by the City of Mesa. A few comments that we have captured, and built off of this year include –

• “Our kids never wanted to leave! They had such a great time, and I didn’t worry about them at all”

• “Being an Olympian myself, I love the themes of the different continents each day. I love the variety of sports taught/played and thank you for paying attention to the heat”

• “The team always connects with us in a great way, and they understand kids are not all the same, but still make sure each kid is accounted for”

ATHLETICS

YOUTH SPORTS:

City of Mesa Youth Sports programs continue to “raise the bar” for recreational and development-based programs serving the residents of Mesa. Existing partnerships continue to flourish including the Jr. Suns Program, the NFL Flag Youth Football program and the “Playball” program. Across the 37 youth sports programs offered in FY 24/25, there were 966 participants. In 2024, City of Mesa Athletics received a grant from the Foundation for Mesa Parks and Recreation to start a Youth Girls Flag Football program which had 28 players in its first season.

For the second year in a row, the City of Mesa Youth Sports offered the Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit, and Run event. Thanks to the partnership with the Cubs, a few development players from the team came out to help. The program took place at Riverview Park where the Cubs practice for Spring Training. There were 114 participants who were thrilled to be playing on a bigleague field.

Thanks to several partnerships with National Sports organizations, multiple programs were offered at no cost to youth this year. The American Youth Soccer Organization “Play Soccer For All” event was held at Eagles Park and featured several high-level club soccer players providing coaching to 52 participants. Thanks to a grant received by the Jr. Suns, the City offered a preseason Youth Basketball clinic at no cost to participants.

Youth Sports partnered with Mesa Public Schools for the second year in a row to offer the Summer “Olympic Camp” for a week for youth ages 6-14. In 2024, the camp was extended to an all-day camp for the first time, and the parent response was extremely positive. There were 62 camp participants that enjoyed learning the history of various countries’ Olympians and participated in Olympic themed competitions.

ADULT SPORTS:

FY 24/25 was a landmark year for the City of Mesa’s Adult Sports Program, marked by record-setting participation and engagement across all categories.

YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH:

• Teams Registered: 643 teams — a 67% increase from the previous year (385 teams)

• Participants: 58,659 players — a 47% increase from 39,783

• Spectators: 28,283 — a 113% increase from 13,258

A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 24/25:

• Successfully organized and hosted a Coed Softball Tournament in December, drawing in 14 teams from across Arizona.

• Hosted the annual All-City Softball Alliance Tournament Weekend, achieving record-setting attendance with 16 coed teams and 14 men’s teams.

• Launched Free Agent Nights for both softball and volleyball, to help individuals find teams and stay engaged in sports.

• Piloted Drop-in Summer Volleyball for women during the off-season.

• Rolled out Virtual Coaches Meetings to enhance communication and streamline the onboarding process, ensuring coaches were well-informed about rule changes and expectations prior to each season.

• Responding to survey results and customer inquiries, the Adult Softball program returned to Kleinman Park in early Summer 2025 with eight teams registered.

MESA TENNIS & PICKLEBALL CENTER (MTPC)

Joining numerous other cities around the country, MTPC has noticed an incredible surge in demand and participation in Pickleball drop-in, classes, and tournaments. The additional courts added in October 2023 are always at capacity during operating hours. We welcomed 36,873 pickleball participants (programs, drop-ins, rentals); 29,105 tennis participants (programs, tournaments, drop-ins, rentals) and 260 membership packages sold with 5,284 member visits. A total of 10,070 volleyball players utilized the 4 sand volleyball courts at MTPC this year.

SPORTS COMPLEX RENTALS

The Sports Complex Rentals team experienced a record year. There were 220 tournaments, during 9,750 revenue generating rentals at field sports complexes. These statistics include partnerships with two college baseball and soccer teams, one based in Mesa – Benedictine University, and the other based out of Phoenix – Gateway Community College. Affiliate Youth Group rentals increased due to most leagues experiencing a tremendous growth in their registration numbers for youth sports activities with the biggest increase in Little League. Fiesta Park hosted the Little League District 7 All-Star tournaments with over 20 teams from the East Valley.

Two national tournaments supported by the City of Mesa and Visit Mesa this year were the National Championship All Girls Lacrosse Showcase and the Arizona Soccer Association Olympic Development Team (ODT). Both tournaments showcased our amazing fields, staff, and the plethora of activities available to visitors from around the country.

For the 42nd year in a row, City of Mesa was a host site for the Men’s Senior Baseball World Series. The event held every October featured over 90 teams, including several teams from Canada and Mexico.

Hohokam Stadium hosted the GSAC College Baseball Championship, Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Division 5a and 6a Baseball tournament, and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) league championships. All games were featured live on ESPN.

YOUTH PROGRAMS

MOBILE RECREATION

Fun ‘n’ Fitness mobile recreation units focus on positive impacts by creating a fun and safe environment in Mesa parks for all ages and to promote community connection. This year we saw the introduction of the M.O.R.E. unit: Mesa Outdoor Recreation Experience. M.O.R.E.’s mission is to promote understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of outdoor recreation in Mesa parks. The three units visit multiple Mesa parks, with a focus on improving the safety of the park environments at Pioneer, Kleinman, Escobedo, Beverly, Guerrero, and Reed. The three units interacted with 23,540 participants through the 830 programmed activities throughout the year.

SUMMER CAMPS

The City of Mesa hosted 12 different summer camps for youth ages 3-14 years. Youth Programs provided seven of those summer camps, partnering with Mesa Public Schools and Queen Creek Public Schools to provide opportunities throughout Mesa. These camps included a Summer Adventure full day camp, five Boredom Busters half-day camps, and an All-Sports half-day camp. Youth Programs summer camps served 3,286 registered participants.

VOLUNTEERS/INTERNS

Volunteer opportunities included park cleanups, tree painting at Gene Autry, support for our various Adaptive Recreation activities, and teen volunteers through the Teen Leadership Training program. We had 1,979 volunteers dedicate their time, completing a total of 37,413 hours over the course of the fiscal year. That is a financial impact of $1,252,961.37!

Over the course of the fiscal year, the department brought on five interns across four divisions: two in GIS, and one each in Adaptive, Marketing, and Youth Programs. In total, the interns completed 1,930 hours.

RECREATION CENTERS

RED MOUNTAIN CENTER

• Membership packages sold - 21,053

• Daily visits: - 157,376

• Private rentals - 362

• Rental attendees - 14,871

• Total number of people enrolled in Special Interest Classes - 4,536

• Tenant Partners

º Oakwood Creative Care total attendance - 6,727

º Aster Aging total attendance - 15,423

• Total number of visits to RMC - 205,102

EAGLES COMMUNITY CENTER

• After School monthly average enrollment - 63

• Summer Escape weekly average enrollment - 54

• Private rentals - 46

• Total number of visits to Eagles - 23,844

JEFFERSON RECREATION CENTER

• After School monthly average enrollment - 107

• Summer Escape weekly average enrollment - 54

• Private rentals - 2

• Total number of visits to JRC - 20,108

WEBSTER RECREATION CENTER

• After School monthly average enrollment - 74

• Summer Escape weekly average enrollment - 55

• Private rentals - 16

• Total number of visits to WRC - 27,712

ADAPTIVE

Mesa Adaptive Recreation continues to thrive, proudly serving individuals with developmental disabilities through a wide range of engaging programs. Over the past year, Team Mesa has offered 175 activities, welcoming 3,202 participants. Program highlights included high-energy country line dancing, relaxing paint nights with breathtaking views of the Superstition Mountains, American Sign Language classes, stand-up paddleboarding adventures, and the Blockhead Guild—a creative space where imagination runs wild through LEGOs and building blocks.

Recreational bowling continues to be the most popular sport in the Team Mesa Adaptive programs serving a total of 174 participants. This program is hosted eight months out of the year. The swim team takes a close second with a total of 121 participants. In all Adaptive sports, there were a total of 385 youth participants which is a 52% increase from the previous year. Sports include swimming, soccer, cheerleading, basketball, track and field, and pickleball.

Inclusion Services celebrated its first full year of implementation, responding to 517 accommodation requests across a variety of recreation programs, including summer camps, special interest classes, youth sports, aquatics, and adaptive offerings. This year’s support included 337 behavior and sensory accommodations, 199 requests for trained inclusion support staff, 87 American Sign Language interpretation services, 50 adaptive equipment needs, and eight requests for audio description or assistive listening devices.

As part of our continued dedication to inclusive excellence, 80% of PRCF’s public-facing staff are now recertified by IBCCES in autism and sensory differences. Staff received training in areas such as autism awareness, communication strategies, sensory sensitivities, safety considerations, and understanding both caregiver and autistic perspectives ensuring that all guests, regardless of ability, can participate in meaningful and supportive experiences.

FRONT DESK

The Front Desk team is committed to helping citizens access the resources they need through phone, email, text, and in-person interactions.

Here are the team’s accomplishments for FY 24/25:

• Responded to over 12,300 emails and over 27,500 phone calls.

• Provided over 2,600 Park Ramada, over 1,000 Ballfield, and over 4,100 Pickleball reservations.

• Registered participants for over 59,000 activities.

• Assisted over 850 residents with scholarship applications and provided over 1,500 registration discounts.

• Additionally, the new Park Ambassador program finished its first year providing on-site park ramada rental assistance at Pioneer, Red Mountain and Riverview parks. The tiny team of customer service agents helped 1,234 premier ramada rental permit holders access their spaces and have exceptional experiences.

SPECIAL EVENTS

The Special Events Office produced or assisted with 32 City-sponsored events with a total attendance of over 121,000 people. Highlights include the Arizona Celebration of Freedom, Merry Main Street, Celebrate Mesa, East Valley Veterans Day Parade, MLK Parade, and I Love Mesa Day. Merry Main Street hosted its 10th year in its current form, featuring throwback holiday characters and restored, oversized street ornaments from Mesa’s 1960’s heritage. Merry Main Street 2024 was awarded “Most Outstanding Special Event” by the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association.

The Special Events Office also provided support to 38 City-supported events, attracting over 62,000 attendees. Highlights include the Mesa Pow Wow, Mesa Marathon, Mesa Turkey Trot, Mesa Sprint Triathlon, and regularly hosted Food Trucks at Pioneer Park. The Special Events Office provided logistical support to an additional 90 City activities and meetings.

The Winter Wonderland Ice Rink attracted over 19,046 skaters, generating nearly $195,000 in revenue. Breakfast with Santa was transitioned from the Mesa Convention Center to The Post and expanded to three Saturdays with a total of six seatings. Five hundred fifty-five tickets were sold, generating $8,325 in revenue.

The Special Events Office generated nearly $310,000 in sponsorship funding to help produce City-sponsored events.

Key Metrics

• Total Events: 297

• Licensing Revenue: $21,450 (a 9% increase from FY 23/24)

• Park Rental Revenue: $69,970 (a 28% increase from FY 23/24)

• New Licenses Issued: 232 (a 15% increase from FY 23/24)

COMMERCIAL

MESA CONVENTION CENTER/AMPHITHEATRE

Conventions, Sports & Leisure International (CSL) completed a Facility Improvement Study of the Mesa Convention Center and Amphitheatre to explore and recommend future updates to the campus. Exciting and innovative options were presented to City Council for future consideration.

The Mesa Convention Center installed new carpet and cove base molding throughout Building A. The design selection has modernized the appearance of the facility and improved the durability of the flooring.

The 8123 Festival was hosted January 17-18, 2025, at the Mesa Amphitheatre.

The two-day festival attracted 6,347 attendees, resulting in the net revenue of almost $600,000, and booked 218 room nights at the neighboring Delta Hotel.

Revenue: $6,394,297 - An increase of $429,549 (7%) from FY 23/24

Number of Events: 150

Number of Concerts: 12

Attendance: 323,446 (287,462 Convention Center; 35,984 Concerts)

Total Use Days: 633

THE POST AND NEON GARDEN

The Post completed its first full year of operations, hosting 145 events, including 69 internal City meetings and functions, 76 external partner, community, and private events, with a combined attendance of more than 17,000 and generating $91,961 in revenue.

A major highlight of the year was the grand opening of the Neon Garden, a collaboration between the City of Mesa and the Mesa Preservation Foundation. The open-air display behind The Post features six restored vintage neon signs from Mesa businesses dating from the 1940s–1970s, including the iconic Bill Johnson’s Big Apple and a replica of the Starlite Motel’s Diving Lady. Funded in part by a 2018 voter-approved cultural bond, the Neon Garden enhances downtown’s sense of place and promotes heritage tourism.

Both The Post and the Neon Garden received significant recognition during the year:

• The Post earned the 2024 Arizona Forward Environmental Excellence Award, the 2024 Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award, and two design awards (Honor Award and People’s Choice Award – Adaptive Reuse) from the American Institute of Architects, Eastern Oklahoma Chapter.

• The Neon Garden received the 2025 Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award.

CEMETERY

Landscaping Improvements and Renovations

• Extensive replacement and repairs were conducted on 1,553 ft of perimeter fence

• Planted 40 new Cypress trees

• Installed 8,000 ft of sprinkler pipe, 13 sprinkler valves, and 90 sprinklers

• Updated the appearance of the Country Club Drive entrance

Revenue for FY 24/25 $1,853,732

• Sold 359 graves

• Installed 452 monuments

• Provided care for 549 burials

Memorial

Service

• The Mesa Cemetery coordinated with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for a Memorial service for fallen Deputy Robert Wright, who was killed in the line of duty in the 1930s. The fallen officer’s ceremony concluded with the dedication of a marker for the Deputy who was previously in an unmarked grave.

GOLF COURSE

Paradigm Golf, operator of Dobson Ranch Golf Course since 2019, continues to invest in facility enhancements, making the course one of the most welcoming in the Valley.

In August 2024, the course debuted “The Stable” putting green course, a family-friendly attraction that has quickly become a favorite evening activity for players of all ages.

April 2025 brought the opening of “The Watering Hole” Beverage Station and Outdoor Grill, offering golfers convenient food and beverage service near the range and putting green.

In May 2025, the addition of the Ranger Servant ball collector and dynamic, interactive target lighting elevated the popular Inrange system, creating an even more engaging experience for guests at the driving range.

• Green Fees Revenue: $4.3 million

• Range Revenue: $2.7 million (up 33% from FY 23/24)

• Total Operations Revenue: $10 million (up 13% from FY 23/24)

• Total Number of Rounds: 90,642

PARKS MAINTENANCE

Parks Maintenance (PM) underwent an organizational restructuring by adding a fourth supervisor, resulting in four streamlined divisions instead of three. The divisions are: Contracts, Parks, Riverview, and Aquatics & Sports Fields Maintenance. All four divisions now report directly to the Park Planning & Operations Deputy Director.

PM has continued its efforts to inventory all defined assets within the parks system. All active assets in PM’s work order system now have work orders tracked against them which builds a comprehensive work history to better forecast infrastructure replacement needs.

In collaboration with the City’s Environmental and Sustainability Department, PM has planted a total of 396 trees in City parks, supporting the goals outlined in the City’s Climate Action Plan.

STATISTICS:

Total Park Acres: 2,516

Work Orders Completed: 7,890

TOTAL COST FOR WORK COMPLETED:

Aquatics K-Gallons

Sports Fields Preps: 9,417

K-Gallons

Environmental Inspections: 10,236

Facility Inspections: 3,723

$14,976 Average Cost Per Acre

PRCF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

The Planning and Development Division underwent an organizational restructure this year that transitioned most of its team members to the newly established Facilities Management Department (FM). As part of this change, the sole Project Manager for PRCF was reassigned to report directly to the PRCF Planning and Development Deputy Director.

This team is responsible for overseeing both capital improvement and infrastructure replacement projects. They manage projects directly or by coordinating PRCF’s project goals and expectations with the Engineering Department. The project count varies year by year with some project spanning multiple years. This year over $10 million dollars in projects were completed and a few of the larger projects completed this year are highlighted below.

MARKETING

TEAM GROWTH & STRATEGY

The PRCF Marketing Team launched an updated marketing strategy focused on fresh, culturally relevant video content and a redesigned, more effective social media calendar. The seasonal PLAYBOOK magazine also received a comprehensive update to better reflect and promote the PRCF brand within the community.

SOCIAL STRATEGY

This year’s social media efforts prioritized staying on-trend with pop culture by emphasizing video content and platform-specific messaging. PRCF began “collabing” with partners on social posts to strengthen community ties and broaden reach. The team also separated content for PRCF Recreation and Enterprise audiences to increase relevance and engagement.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The department significantly increased outreach, focusing on inclusivity and accessibility. New Spanish-language materials, a bilingual glossary, and duplicated messaging on social platforms helped better connect with the Spanish-speaking community. PRCF participated in over 10 local events through schools, churches, and HOAs, expanded event promotion, built partnerships with local influencers, and continued growing the department newsletter, now reaching over 73,000 subscribers.

WEBSITE REVAMP – WENT LIVE NOVEMBER 18, 2024

A major website overhaul was completed in under six months. The process included hosting focus groups to gather community feedback, simplifying navigation and content layout, and aligning the site’s design with the PRCF brand.

IMPRESSIONS:

PRCF TOP IMPRESSIONS - FACEBOOK

PRCF TOP IMPRESSIONS - INSTAGRAM

ENTERPRISE TOP IMPRESSIONS - FACEBOOK

ENTERPRISE TOP IMPRESSIONS - INSTAGRAM

GRANTS / SPONSORSHIPS

FOUNDATION FOR MESA PARKS AND RECREATION

$41,500:

This funding provided Making Waves and Positive Play Scholarships, supported Adaptive programs, the continued expansion of teen programs and contributed to transportation and event costs at summer camps, and more!

DROWNING PREVENTION COALITION OF ARIZONA

$600:

The Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona works to prevent drownings through education, advocacy, and safety initiatives. This grant funding provided swim lessons to our community.

STUDENT & YOUTH TRAVEL ASSOCIATION

$5,000:

This funding provided the experience of a lifetime for our summer camp kids to attend a show at Medieval Times, it was an enchanting time, and the field trip would not have happened without this support.

$10,000:

SALT RIVER PIMA-MARICOPA INDIAN COMMUNITY

This grant funded Making Waves swim lesson scholarships and the printing of pool maps and summer passports to help spread the word about the importance of water safety.

FINANCE

PARKS RECREATION AND COMMUNITY FACILITIES ANNUAL BUDGET

Staff refers to the number of employees it takes to run a successful Parks and Recreation Department.

Staff: 188

Staff: 719

Full Time Equivalent (FTE) measures staff in terms of full time jobs. One full time employee equals 1.0 FTE. Part time employees are grouped by hours so multiple part timers can equal a single full time role.

FTE: 209

FTE: 112.3 *FY 25 reflects separation of the FM budget.