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The Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation Board held a press conference to discuss past, present and future events. KSMU’s Justin Lux was there and has the story.
The Springfield-Greene County park system offers many different parks with at least three more opening this year. With families being forced to cut back on their spending, the city-county park system bills itself as an affordable option for having a good time.
The newly released annual report from the park board shows that of those Springfield residents who were surveyed, 83% of them used one of the area’s parks in the last 12 months.
Along with the parks, the number of community sporting events has greatly increased. The Springfield Community Olympic Development Program has seen its number of participants increase to more than 13,000 athletes. While the city also received a top 10 ranking for Best Tennis Town after completing a 12-court tennis facility and park area at the Gillenwaters Tennis Complex. The President of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Jim Anderson says parks bring money into the local economy.
“In my mind we heard today the economic impact of Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation. Certainly it’s most significant in our region in terms of that economic impact. But it’s also about quality of life and I would submit the infrastructure of our quality of life that we heard today is certainly Springfield-Greene County Parks and Recreation,” says Anderson.
Of the several hundred athletic events held by the park system, 20 alone brought in more than $4 million.
For KSMU News, I’m Justin Lux.
