TO: The Honorable Board of County Commissioners
THROUGH: John A. Titkanich, Jr., County Administrator
THROUGH: Michael C. Zito, Deputy County Administrator
Beth Powell, Parks, Recreation, & Conservation Director
FROM: Gustavo Vergara, Parks, Recreation and Conservation
Assistant Director Operations and Programs
DATE: November 14, 2025
SUBJECT: 2026 Special Olympics Fall Classic License Agreement - November 7, 2026
__________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND
Special Olympics is a global organization and is the largest sport organization that serves athletes with intellectual disabilities with more than 4.9 million athletes in 172 countries and over one million volunteers. The Mission of the Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in variety of Olympic type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics mission remains as vital today as it did when the movement was founded in 1968. Special Olympics offers 27 sports in Florida starting at the age of 2 years old, with close to 75,000 athletes and 45,000 volunteers participating yearly. Indian River County has a long history of hosting the State Swimming Championships at the North County Aquatic Center and Golf Championships at Sandridge Golf Club. These events not only support athletes and their families in providing amazing facilities for their competitions but provide important economic impact to the area.
ANALYSIS
For the third year, Special Olympics would like to expand their reach to local athletes by hosting the 2026 Fall Classic in Indian River County on Saturday, November 7, 2026. This event will include flag football, pickleball, softball (outdoor sports) and power lifting in one high energy day. The outdoor sports would be held at Richard “Dick” Bird Park and power lifting would be held inside the iG gym with a luncheon provided in rooms 131A, 131B and 131C. Rooms 112A and 112B would be used for coaches’ meetings throughout the day. Special Olympics Staff appreciates the closeness of the facilities as it creates a synergistic effect to the day by bringing all the disciplines together without the need to travel between facilities. The attached License Agreement and proposed fees encapsulate the entirety of the relationship for this event. An additional 25% discount to the non-profit rate due to the existing relationship with Special Olympics and probable economic impact is proposed.
BUDGETARY IMPACT
No funding is required for the subject task. The resulting approval will provide revenue to the MSTU Fund accounts shown in the table below.
|
Account Description |
Account Number |
Amount |
|
South County Rentals (Revenue Account) |
004034-347219 |
$2,250.00 |
|
iG Room Rental (Revenue Account) |
004034-347300 |
$1,837.50 |
|
iG Gym Rental (Revenue Account |
004034-347301 |
$1,125.00 |
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTIONS
24-0735 - September 10, 2024, Special Olympics Fall Classic
25-0918 - September 10, 2025, Special Olympics Fall Classic
POTENTIAL FUTURE BOARD ACTIONS
The Board of County Commissioners may approve future License Agreements with Special Olympics Inc for future events.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
Quality of Life
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff respectfully requests that the Board of County Commissioners approve the License Agreement with Special Olympics Inc. and authorize the Chairman to execute the agreement after review and approval by the County Attorney for legal sufficiency.