Community Vitality A case for support presented to the Town of St. Marys February 9, 2016
The Town of St. Marys Community Based Strategic Plan identifies the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as both a strength and an opportunity for the Town. St. Marys is perhaps best known outside the region as the home of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. The Town has managed to build upon this landmark to make recreation a key focus within the community. (4.1. Strengths. Recreation and Attractions. Town of St. Marys Community Based Strategic Plan. Final Report.) Building upon the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Pyramid Recreation Centre, St. Marys has the opportunity to become a destination point for recreation and sportrelated events, tournaments, camps and conferences. (4.3. Opportunities. Tourism Development. Town of St. Marys Community Based Strategic Plan. Final Report.) For the past three years, the board of directors of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has made a concerted effort to strengthen the foundation of the organization and develop a sustainable strategic master plan that positions the Hall to fulfill its potential as an economic and cultural driver for the Town of St. Marys. With your support, we are ready to move forward on the path to a more vibrant and prosperous community. Vision Every year on Induction Day we see the impact the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has bringing residents and visitors together, filling the downtown core, booking up rooms at our inns, generating food sales, and drawing national media attention. Imagine if some level of this excitement and engagement could be sustained throughout the year: a steady stream of visitors coming to St. Marys for interactive museum experiences or baseball lectures and then staying for dinner; teams of little league players and coaches cooling off in the quarry between tournament games, while moms and dads shop in town; a must-see tourist attraction in town at which to entertain out-of-town guests. Over the past three years, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has developed a plan that will not only fulfill the Hall s mandate, but will reap economic and cultural benefit for the Town. History In 1992, the Town of St. Marys, in an audacious move, initiated a bid to be the new site for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which until that time had been headquartered in Toronto. The St. Marys initiative was driven by community and business leaders, and supported by a significant gift of land from the St. Marys Cement Company. Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum = Community Vitality Page 2
In 1994, facing competition from many larger centres, St. Marys was awarded the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. During past 21 years, with the Town s support, we have successfully: Established four baseball fields hosting 900 events per year Hosted exceptional annual induction events, drawing approximately 3000 visitors to St. Marys annually and attracting national attention Acquired a significant collection of artifacts Developed solid relationships with Major League Baseball, Cooperstown, Team Canada, Baseball Canada, Toronto Blue Jays, and Expos Nation Generated a positive local, regional and national profile Achieved financial stability, realizing small surpluses for three of the four past years The Challenge In spite of these successes, we have yet to achieve the initial vision of a first-class attraction, with year-round programming, and a larger, more active role in the economic development of the Town of St. Marys and the region. The community both local residents and baseball enthusiasts from across the country has expressed impatience with the lack of progress. All respondents are impatient for the CBHFM to get on with these tasks, at the same time they appreciate that the opportunity to build the new Museum comes once, so they expect the result to be thoughtfully planned, taking the needs of stakeholders into account, and they want the result to have a high level of quality and appeal. Bill Peters Consulting, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Community Needs Assessment, 2014 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum = Community Vitality Page 3
Facing the challenge The board of directors, acknowledging the community s desire for a more robust hall of fame and museum, and committed to fulfilling the mandate of the organization, embarked on an extensive three-year initiative to better position the Hall to realize its full potential. The board and staff: Made key decisions to commit to future development and sustainability Strengthened the composition of the Board Strengthened key relationships With Trillium Foundation grant, hired Bill Peters and White Oaks Consulting to provide an experienced, objective view Completed a governance review and updated bylaws Conducted a community needs assessment Strengthened organizational capacity to respond to community needs Conducted a site study Developed architectural and sustainable business plans Identifying community needs Through the Community Needs Assessment, that included confidential interviews with 44 stakeholders local and national we learned: The baseball community needs to celebrate achievements and engage more people in the game Ontario and Canada need healthy, fit population St. Marys needs quality of life experiences that are attractive to visitors, residents and businesses Educators need resources to support numeracy, literacy and physical education lessons Visitors need quality experiences that reach beyond baseball The region needs economic development We listened to our stakeholders, and we are now prepared to move forward with a plan that responds to these community needs. Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum = Community Vitality Page 4
Responding to community needs In response to the Community Needs Assessment, we worked with Bill Peters and White Oaks Associates to develop a strategic master plan including an architectural plan and a sustainable operating model. For the architectural plan, designed by Marklevitz Architects Inc., the entire 35-acre site will be considered the Hall of Fame and Museum. Taking a campus approach, the site will include: A new pavilion adjacent to the ball fields to support games and tournaments A collection and archive centre located in the existing house currently serving as the museum exhibition space A baseball timeline trail linked in with the Loop Trail A new 7100 sq. ft. Program and Visitor Centre The Program and Visitor Centre will front onto Water Street, serving as a gateway to St. Marys, and an anchor for a recreation district that includes the tennis courts, quarry, curling club and park. It will be open year-round, and will include permanent and temporary exhibition spaces, an auditorium in which to present programming, and versatile space to be used to meet community needs, such as meeting and gathering spaces, tournament facilities, and visitor information. Exhibitions will be designed by BaAM Productions and will serve a diverse audience by layering well-researched, rich content with engaging, hands-on experiences. In addition to indoor museum exhibitions there will be exhibition elements outdoors along the Baseball Timeline Trail. This will ensure those who are on site playing ball, and who may not be compelled to take in the visitor centre exhibitions, will have an immersive heritage experience that they can only have at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. This will further set us apart from all of the other communities that have ball diamonds. The new Program and Visitor Centre will afford us the space to offer programming we are unable to accommodate at our present facility: Lectures School programs, including literacy and numeracy education units Bus tours Meet and greets Fan events These programs will enhance visitor experiences and generate revenue. Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum = Community Vitality Page 5
Projected annual attendance It is nice to think that if we build it, they will come. We chose to take a more scientific approach to attendance projections and turned to White Oaks Consulting to extensively study the market. Their research revealed a four-pillar target market: Primary resident those living in St. Marys and Perth County Secondary resident those living in Huron, Middlesex, Oxford and Waterloo counties School groups Tourists After analyzing the market potential, our minimum annual attendance is projected to be: Target Market Segment Projected Attendance Primary residents 3000 Secondary residents 8300 School groups 1100 Tourists 4000 Ball game players and spectators 38000 TOTAL 54000 Confidence in the plan We have invested much time and effort researching, analyzing and developing this plan. We are confident in this plan because: It responds to community needs It is evidence-based and tested It is realistic and achievable It is objective and third-party verified It is aligned with the Town of St. Marys Strategic Plan and Municipal Cultural Plan The investment The total cost of the project is $6.36 million including: Capital costs $5,000,000 Transition costs $1,360,000 Request to the Town of St. Marys We request the Town of St. Marys make the following investments in this initiative: One-time capital contribution $550,000 Annual core funding $150,000 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum = Community Vitality Page 6
Capital contribution in context The requested $550,000 represents 8% of total campaign revenue, and will be matched by the $760,000 we have already raised and reserved for the project. The municipal contribution is essential to leverage an additional: $ 550,000 in local, private donations $1,250,000 in federal grants $1,250,000 in provincial grants $2,000,000 in private donations from baseball community, sponsors, funders We have been told by provincial and federal government officials that funding from other levels of government is contingent on municipal contribution. Likewise, the Town s capital commitment will be conditional on the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum securing the leveraged funding from other levels of government and donors. Core funding in context The requested $150,000 in annual core funding represents 19% of our annual operating budget. Stable core funding is essential to ensure we have the capacity to implement and sustain this initiative. Other funders and donors need to be confident that our operation in St. Marys is solid, and that the community supports this initiative In addition to allocating budget for their own municipal museums, cities and towns that value the economic benefits of cultural attractions invest in non-profit, volunteer-driven attractions in their communities. Our request for operating support is in line with other municipal contributions to non-profit cultural organizations in Ontario. Municipal Contributions to Non-Profit Culture Organizations Municipal Contribution Total Revenue % of Revenue Contributed by Municipality Grand Bend Lambton Heritage Museum 856141 1009754 85% Oil Springs Oil Museum of Canada 276046 326290 85% Stratford Stratford Perth Museum 228285 337933 68% Aylmer Aylmer Museum 32832 82276 40% London Fanshawe Pioneer Village 395598 1064887 37% Carp Diefenbunker 278270 1081782 26% Kitchener THEMUSEUM 628128 2457691 26% London Children's Museum 256877 1149327 22% St. Marys Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Plan 150000 809066 19% Goderich Goderich Little Theatre 24193 148358 16% Stratford Gallery Stratford 43000 325149 13% Peterborough The Canadian Canoe Museum 103428 1031693 10% Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum = Community Vitality Page 7
Return on investment The Town of St. Marys investment will reap benefits for the entire community. Whether they use the resources at the Hall of Fame directly or not, every citizen of St. Marys will benefit from this initiative as a result of the cultural and economic spin-offs. St. Marys will boast a new $5 million capital asset on town-owned land, contributing less than 10 cents for every $1 spent on the project Project will create approximately 4.5 new, permanent FTE jobs and a total of 17 permanent jobs (full-time, part-time, and seasonal) The capital project will provide for 21 direct jobs, 5 indirect jobs, and 6 induced jobs for a total of 33 jobs The ongoing operation of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame will generate nearly $6 million in visitor spending in the region annually Increased tourism will result in people on the streets of downtown St. Marys, bustling restaurants and increased room nights St. Marys residents will take pride in being home to an impressive landmark with national profile The time is now A commitment beginning with the 2016 budget will trigger: Organizational capacity growth in 2016 Funding requests to the provincial and federal governments in 2016 Community campaign in 2016 and 2017 Architectural design and exhibition completion in 2017 Ground-breaking in 2018 Grand opening 2019 Your leadership is essential The Town s Municipal Cultural Plan identifies three priorities: Inspire leadership and municipal support of culture Enhance cultural offerings Expand the market for culture in St. Marys. St. Marys should provide funding for infrastructure improvement projects which increase the Town s ability to support a greater number of cultural tourists. (Priority 1: Strategy 2B. Town of St. Marys Municipal Cultural Plan.) St. Marys should take steps to improve its existing cultural products and develop new ones when the opportunity arises. (Priority 2: Strategy 1. Town of St. Marys Municipal Cultural Plan.) Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum = Community Vitality Page 8
Make big bigger to support increased cultural activity in the downtown core. (Priority 3: Strategy 3A. Town of St. Marys Municipal Cultural Plan.) This Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum initiative has been 21 years in the making. All of our successes over the past two decades, and all of our mistakes, have helped to inform this plan. Dozens of experts have shared with us their perspectives, knowledge and advice, and this information has been scrutinized and collated by consultants with extensive experience in museum development and management. This plan is the way forward. This plan will generate the results envisioned by those who so passionately worked to bring the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to St. Marys in 1994, and those countless volunteers who have engaged in this worthwhile endeavour since. This plan will deliver the results desired by the Town of St. Marys as articulated in the Town s Strategic Plan and Municipal Cultural Plan. We need your support to move forward with this initiative. Together we will achieve the economic and cultural outcomes that our Town so urgently needs. Thank you for considering an investment in community vitality. Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum = Community Vitality Page 9