TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute all documents necessary for a lease with California State University, Long Beach, for the operation of Blair Field, located at 4700 Deukmejian Drive, for an initial term of 11 years, with the option to extend the lease for four additional periods of 11 years each. (District 3)
DISCUSSION
Since 1958, Blair Field, located at 4700 Deukmejian Drive, has fostered local amateur baseball and football in Long Beach, including long-standing use by the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) for its high school athletic events. Throughout the years, it has been a popular location for celebrity sports competitions, the filming of commercials, television programs, and movies. It has also been used by professional sports teams such as the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Rams for practice, and is the current home of the California State University at Long Beach (CSULB) baseball team, the “Dirtbags.”
The use of Blair Field by CSULB is currently governed under Use Permit No. 28843 (Permit), which was approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission on April 15, 2004. In an effort to reduce costs for non-core services, the City Council authorized the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Marine (PRM) in Fiscal Year 2009 (FY 09) to open negotiations with CSULB for a long-term lease of Blair Field. The Permit was amended to transfer all maintenance responsibilities and control of concessions at Blair Field from the City to CSULB, effective January 1, 2010.
From the City’s perspective, the intent of the lease is fourfold: 1) reduce ongoing operations and maintenance costs; 2) secure needed capital improvements and other physical enhancements to the facility; 3) maintain the ability to use the facility for LBUSD athletics and other City-sponsored events; and 4) obtain additional community recreational benefits through the provision of annual youth sports clinics. In exchange for the above and for other considera...
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