SAN CLEMENTE : Local Firm Wins Softball Park Pact

By a 4-1 council vote last week, San Clemente Sportspark Ltd. was awarded a maximum 20-year lease to operate concessions and four lighted softball fields at Richard T. Steed Memorial Park.

City officials in 1985 had granted operation of the park to South Coast Sports Enterprises. The firm operated the park from its opening date in June, 1989, until it declared bankruptcy in June, 1990.

At that time, a judge declared that the city was responsible for operating the park. An interim agreement with San Clemente Sportspark Ltd. was granted in June of this year, until the long-term lease was completed, Bruce E. Wegner, the city’s parks and recreation manager, said in a report.

The firm is required to pay the city 5% of gross revenue from all operations at the park, Wegner said. The rate increases to 8% of gross revenue when annual revenue exceeds $2.4 million. Required minimum rent for the park is $24,000 per year, with a built-in increase to $40,000 in January. The operator must run the park at no cost to the city. The new lease contains a clause that requires San Clemente Sportspark Ltd. to submit plans for additional park improvements by December, 1992. If it fails to do so, the lease can be terminated, according to Wegner.

However, if the company’s plans are acceptable to the city, the lease will automatically be extended to the year 2011.

To reimburse the city for operating costs during 1990-91 bankruptcy proceedings, San Clemente Sportspark Ltd. also has agreed to pay the city $44,000 per year for 10 years, unless the lease terminates at an earlier date, Wegner said.