The internet can be a powerful tool for aiding your Parks and Recreation department in its mission to provide relaxation and education for citizens. By leveraging your city’s web site in combination with other resources on the web, your city can see an increase in event attendance, sports registrations, and organizational efficiency. Here’s how:

1. City Website – Take all of the information from the flyers, mailers, and banners that you use to advertise Parks and Recreation events and put that content on your website. Convert all of the registration forms to PDFs so they can be printed. And most importantly, keep everything up to date. It may seem time consuming, but the time and money it saves by eliminating calls to the office will add up in no time.
2. E-Registration – Invest in online registration software and integrate it with your website. Allow people to buy and print event tickets, sign up and pay for sports team and class registrations, even pay licensing fees online. There is an upfront cost, but the time saved by not doing everything manually will quickly justify the cost. Plus, people can pay at any time, 24/7.
3. Calendar – Keep an event and sports calendar on your website (large cities might want one of each). Not only does it help busy citizens to plan on getting from game to game, but it drives a constant flow of traffic to your website. Again, a calendar is only as good as the information so keep it up to date.
4. Mapping – Using mapping utilities like Google Maps or MSN Live Search can help get people to the right field for the game or the correct place for the event. You can even create custom maps so that people to go on a guided e-tour through the attractions in your city.
5. Sports Statistics – Everyone loves tracking the statistics for their favorite pro team and now they can do the same for their local city league. Put up score and statistics pages for all of the sports leagues on your website and keep them updated after each game. Use high-traffic pages like this to advertise other events or news around the city.