Despite having been shut down for several months due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020 has still been a good year for the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex.
While reviewing an income statement that was submitted Dec. 4 by the Boys and Girls Club of El Dorado, complex board chairman Greg Harrison said concession stand revenue for the year is believed to be the highest take ever at the complex.
The concession stand pulled in $9,222 in gross income through Nov. 30, according to the BGCE income statement.
The Boys and Girls Club operates and manages the complex and the concession stand, per contracts with the city of El Dorado and the complex, respectively.
“I’ve been told that’s the most that’s ever been brought in by the concession stand and that’s during a pandemic,” Harrison said.
“Last year, we had a lot of growing pains and we’ve had time to figure some things out. We were shut down for so long this year, especially during prime time. The staff out there, they’re doing great” added David Lee, executive director of the BGCE.
The complex closed in early March as COVID-19 cases spiked and the facility reopened in late July, following a vote by the El Dorado City Council, who had opted to keep the facility closed due to economic uncertainties and health and safety concerns that were posed by COVID-19.
Complex board member Phillip Lansdell, who also serves as athletic director for the El Dorado School District, clarified information regarding the temporary closure of the complex.
Lansdell explained that high-school and community team-sports were initially shut down, per a directive from the Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s office with consultation from the Arkansas Department of Health.
He said there had been confusion about previous reports that the Arkansas Activities Association suspended team sports activities and closed related facilities, such as the complex.
“Triple A did not shut down the complex. Triple A shut down the high school athletic fields,” Lansdell said.
The El Dorado High School baseball and softball fields are located on complex grounds.
“Triple A followed what the governor said and came up with these guidelines and everybody kind of started following Triple A guidelines,” Lansdell continued.
Harrison reiterated that the complex is a city park and recreational spot, noting that the city owns most of the land on which the complex sits adding that land on the south end of the facility — where new baseball, softball and soccer fields have been built — was donated to the complex board years ago by Deltic Timber.
The facility sits just outside city limits on Champagnolle Road and the city and Union County contribute to the complex’s annual operating budget.
With activity having picked up sharply and several baseball and softball tournaments held since the facility’s July 23 reopening, Lee told board members that the 2021 tournament schedule is already filling up.
Three tournaments were held at the complex before the temporary shut down last spring and 21 tournaments have been hosted there since the reopening.
An adult tournament that is returning to the complex next August drew 30 teams this year, Lee said, adding, “They’ll probably have more teams next year. There’s a lot of good things coming down the pike.”
The director of another tournament that has been scheduled at the complex in 2021 has a regional following, with groups often traveling and lodging overnight in RVs and campers, he said.
Lee said he wanted to reach out to Robert Edmonds, director of public works for the city of El Dorado, to make sure the facility’s eight RV sites are in tip-top shape.
Four part-time employees take care of the complex and Lee said he expects to hire another part-time worker next year.
He also said a new athletic director is expected to come aboard at the BGCE and the complex soon.