Citywide Sports Fields Plan
The City adopted the Parks, Recreation and Opens Space (PROS) Plan in 2022. Virtually all respondents (97%) to the PROS Plan community survey, which received nearly 1,400 responses, felt that local parks and recreation opportunities are important or essential to the quality of life in Camas. Three core priorities also emerged from the community feedback: maintain what we have, fill gaps and improve trails connections, and develop and improve existing parks. This project responds directly to two of the three core priorities – “maintain what we have” and “develop and improve existing parks”. Chapter 10 of the PROS Plan provides key project recommendations that respond to these priorities, which includes “Sports Field Improvements.”
The City has a collection of grass fields that serve youth and adult baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse and rugby; and a handful of outdoor courts that serve tennis, pickleball and basketball. Over the last several years, this region has experienced very wet spring seasons, which have negatively impacted the grass fields and shortened the practice and playing season for leagues. While there are synthetic fields available through the school district and Clark County Parks, the City has heard that it does not meet current user demand, especially for leagues that use Camas fields as their home field.
In response to the priorities set out in the adopted PROS Plan and continued feedback from leagues and other athletic facilities users, the City is conducting an assessment to complete a Citywide Sports Fields Plan (Plan). The Plan is an assessment of the athletic facility's capacity and conditions, which include the nine existing city sites with athletic sports fields and courts within the city limits of Camas. Capacity assessment will also include a demand analysis of East County to better understand opportunities for partnerships amongst various jurisdictions to phase in additional capacity. The Plan will serve as a management tool for the City to maintain and enhance its existing fields and sports courts and provide a strategy for adding additional capacity to meet the growing demand efficiently and cost effectively.
Help us understand athletic facilities usage
Beginning this summer and moving into fall, the City will ask Camas residents / athletic facility users what sports they play, conditions observations and if they think there's enough capacity in our system. Your input is essential, as it will help us draft the plan - PLEASE TAKE THE SURVEYS BELOW by Friday, June 21.
You can learn more about this process by periodically visiting this page, and by signing up for email updates to keep informed about open houses, surveys and more!
Public meetings
You can find meeting dates and agendas under Key Dates on the right side of this page. Ultimately, City Council, after being advised by the Parks and Recreation Commission, will make the final decision on plan adoption later this year.