Ipswich sports-field fees lack a full hourly cost measure

Ipswich sporting clubs and residents do not yet have a reliable hourly cost for sports-field access, after councillors were told the $1.71 and $1.76 figures used for clubs and schools were based on fees collected, not the full cost of providing a field.

Ipswich City Council said it cannot accurately calculate the actual service-delivery cost of one hour’s access to an individual sports field. The figures were calculated by dividing total fees received by the total hours booked by clubs and schools respectively.

Maintenance and operational spending is aggregated across the Central and Eastern service areas, which cover multiple sporting assets. Costs are not captured at individual facility level, limiting the accuracy of site-specific cost-recovery analysis.

Council also identified differences in service levels between strategic and local fields, grass quality, distances between facilities and other work and location-specific factors as variables affecting the cost of providing fit-for-purpose sporting and recreation facilities.

The questions were raised alongside planning issues involving the Ivor Marsden precinct and North Ipswich Reserve. Council said there is no current masterplan for Ivor Marsden. Cricket Ipswich has been the facility’s primary user for many years, with no anticipated change to that arrangement.

Council said user-led and user-funded development under council governance was consistent with its preferred sport and recreation principles. Supporting preliminary planning, including potentially contributing to planning costs, does not commit council to future construction or capital investment.

Questions about North Ipswich Reserve focused on keeping the masterplan directed towards the highest-value outcomes, including the desired stadium capacity and event activation, while capital is limited.

The sports-field costing issue was separate from Council’s decision to retain Rosewood Aquatic Centre’s current opening hours, operating months and service levels. No changes were made to the centre’s existing operational schedule.