Sporting clubs volunteer funds

SOUTHERN Downs Regional Council’s (SDRC) Economic Development Unit and the sporting clubs operating at Morgan Park welcomed the offer from the State Government’s Department of Infrastructure State Development, Infrastructure and Planning to utilise their Senior Economist, Rod Strahan to complete an economic assessment of Morgan Park sporting activities.
Economic Development Officer, Nick Edols, who organised this activity, said there was a need for ongoing work in assessing the benefits that Morgan Park brought to the region and this particular economic assessment was a step in right direction.
He said that this was the first time that all of the main Morgan Park sporting clubs participated in individual interviews with an economist  as a basis for assessing the voluntary contributions and economic benefits.
Mr Edols said the sporting clubs operating at Morgan Park were well known to most of the Southern Downs community. However for the uninitiated, Morgan Park is a recreational facility that caters to a range of motor sports, horse sports and clay target shooting.
There are six clubs that lease separate parts of the grounds and each of the clubs have developed a range of facilities and infrastructure.
The clubs run a continuous stream of very impressive and well attended sporting events, attracting many visitors from outside the region to Warwick.
The clubs are the Warwick and District Dirt Bike Club, Warwick Drag Racing Club, Warwick District Sporting Car Club, Warwick Horse Trials, Warwick Polocrosse Club, and Warwick Clay Target Club.
A key finding of the study is that the voluntary contribution by Morgan Park sporting clubs is conservatively worth $1.5 million a year. This is based on a conservative valuation of the voluntary time of club members and officials at $20 per hour.
“This is an amazing contribution to the community and economy of the Southern Downs,” Mr Edols said.
The study also pointed out that Southern Downs Regional Council provided significant in-kind assistance to the Morgan Park precinct on an annual basis by way of maintenance of common areas, road reserve and bitumen roads servicing Morgan Park.
The sporting clubs have utilised assistance under council’s plant-hire donation’s policy. This policy allows clubs to receive in-kind support to the value of $2,000 annually. Further, council has allocated $200,000 for the upgrade of the road access for the entrance to Morgan Park.
The economic assessment study estimates the value of capital infrastructure of the sporting precinct is valued at $17 million.
The Warwick District Sporting Car Club alone has infrastructure estimated to be worth $12 million on the grounds it leases. These figures exclude the value of the land.
The study states that these capital improvements represent the amount of expenditure incurred on the land by each of the clubs. Where expenditure data wasn’t available, an estimate of the replacement value of improvements was made.
The capital improvements, according to the study, were developed over a number of years and have been derived from various sources including grants, council loans, private donations and a significant amount of in-kind voluntary contributions from the sporting clubs and club generated income.
The study reveals that the annual total economic benefit the Morgan Park sporting clubs bring to the Southern Downs is estimated at $5.8 million, based on the 2011 calendar year. However the study acknowledges that this figure is conservative as not all impacts from the Morgan Park activities were included.
A clear picture emerged from the study of the numbers and expenditure of competitors and spectators that Morgan Park brings to Warwick from outside the region.
The study focused on the expenditure on accommodation, food and beverage by visiting competitors and spectators. On this basis the direct annual benefit to the Southern Downs is conservatively estimated at $3.35 million.
The economic assessment process fed this amount of direct effects into an economic modelling and software system called Remplan, which takes into account the flow-on effects of money spent. Under this method the multiplier effects of this $3.35 million raises the level of total economic benefits to the Southern Downs to $5.8 million.
One area that study was not able to cover is the annual dollar value of the expenditure by a number of residents who have permanently relocated to Warwick because of the existence of the Morgan Park facility.
One local real estate agent who has kept an eye on this trend is Yve Stocks. Yve has estimated that at least 200 people have moved to Warwick because of Morgan Park. Yve said that she herself was one such example, moving here because of her great interest in sports cars.
Chris and John Loy of the Warwick Drag Racing Club have been quick to point out that one of the key advantages of the economic assessment is its usefulness with grant applications by Morgan Park Sporting Clubs.  The drag racing club has recently made it to the final stage of a Regional Development Australia funding round and it is now one of five final applicants vying for grant money to enable it to greatly improve the drag racing facilities.
Bill Campbell, who has been the driving force behind the Warwick and District Sporting Car Club at Morgan Park, is appreciative of the economic assessment work and suggests that it is a good basis for further work in future years.  Bill pointed out that there are further benefits to be included in the assessment such as the mid-week activity that involves testing and training. For example, Choice Magazine employees have stayed in Warwick to undertake tests and trials mid-week when the facilities are available.
Bill also suggests that an assessment of the value of having new residents to the town as a result of Morgan Park needs to be included in the future studies. He said this inclusion could considerably add to current estimated value of benefits.
Les Fraser of Warwick Polocrosse Club notes that this study was based on 2011 as a typical year. He suggests that the size and types of events can vary considerably from year to year and therefore the estimated financial benefits can also vary. For example the National Polocrosse Championships held at Morgan Park in 2012, according to data collected by the club itself, brought into the district well more than $1 million on its own as a direct benefit.
He also said that that a large economic benefit occurred from the Polocrosse State Championships held recently in Morgan Park.
Andrew Roach, CEO of Southern Downs Regional Council said, “With the success of the Morgan Park facility, the Southern Downs is the envy of many regional centres.
“It’s a terrific asset and draw card to have and the signs are there that the Morgan Park sporting clubs will continue to grow and add a good deal of value to the community and economy of the Southern Downs.”