MARKET ASSESSMENT Wentzville Community Center Feasibility
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Section I - Executive Summary Background Hastings+Chivetta Architects along with Ballard*King & Associates (B*K) were hired to determine the market need and feasibility of a Community Recreation Center in the City of Wentzville. The Community Recreation Center was one of the top priorities identified through the comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan process conducted in 2016. The primary goal of this study was to explore the community need and demand for a Community Recreation Center through market analysis, stakeholder meetings and inventory of existing facilities and feasibility analysis.
Market Condition Review The Wentzville R-IV School District was identified as the primary service area for this study. The population within this service area is growing at a robust pace and projected to increase about 9.6 percent over the next five years to reach a population of 90,079 people by the year 2021. The demographic profile of the service area reflects a growing community. There is a higher concentration of under 5, 5-17 and 25-44 age groups and less in the age groups over 55 years than the national levels. This points to a large number of families with young children in the service area with over 43 percent of households having children. As a result, the median age in the service area is almost three years lower than the national level of 38 years. Median Household Income is 37.5 percent higher than the national level. Age and household income are two determining factors that drive participation in recreation and leisure activities. The demographic profile suggests that there will be continued support and demand for recreation activities and programs in the future. The mixture of median age, median household income and housing budget expenditures combine to create a favorable market condition for the development of a community recreation center. There are other recreation and fitness providers in the primary service area, however, the other service providers have a narrow business focus on the adult fitness market while the wellness and sport opportunity for young people, seniors and families are underserved in the community. Although the School District has been generous with their support of Wentzville’s parks and recreation programs in the past, it is clear that the existing inventory of space within the School District is no longer sufficient to meet the growing needs of the youth sports programs and expanding school activities. The need for more gymnasium space, swimming pool and a fitness component was validated through the public input process used during the market analysis process and community survey results. Statistics from the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) were overlaid on to the demographic profile of the service area to determine the market potential for various activities that can take place within a sports and wellness center. The market analysis concluded that Wentzville is underserved for indoor swimming, fitness opportunities, family activities, youth fitness programs and gymnasium space. A series of 17 different stakeholder meetings representing more than 50 people were held to gather input on community needs, facility components, partnerships, funding and community use during the market analysis process.
Program The program recommendations for the City of Wentzville were driven by the information gathered during the market analysis, including the 2016 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, demographic profile of the community, statistical data from NSGA, stakeholder input and competitive analysis of other recreation facilities in the area. The project recommendations reflect the most pressing needs in the community. Based on the market analysis, program assessment and budgetary considerations, the following program summary was developed. Page 3
