From softball to kickball, soccer to volleyball, ultimate frisbee to flag football, and dodgeball to, yes, even foam dart guns, there is a league for that in Rochester. If you are an adult into playing games, that is.

The varied and shifting recreation interests have the city soliciting proposals not just for a softball league operator but, for the first time, other field sports as well. Those interested must submit proposals by Dec. 2.

"Part of what we are trying to do is get to more adult, fee-based activities going in the parks," said James Farr, assistant recreation director for the city. "And we realize there is a lot more diversity out there than just softball now."

There was a time, some 15 years ago, that the city's popular softball league boasted 240 teams. Today, there are half as many.

The downward trend is seen nationally, as participation plummeted during the 1990s and continued to slide in recent years before leveling off or, possibly, beginning to rebound, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. SFIA tracks sports participation, with its 2016 report finding an overall increase in team, winter, water and fitness activities, and flat or declining participation in individual sports. Private operators are diversifying the market for adult recreation leagues, with options for those of varying athletic ability and competitive zeal, and taking on more of the traditional public leagues.

"You name it, now it seems like the number of adult leagues are expanding just from the availability standpoint," said Chris Bilow, Penfield recreation director.

Throw in other leagues for darts, bowling and pool, to name a few, and it seemingly adds up to big business. But not all are in the game to make money. Many remain municipally run. Others, like the Kickball League of Rochester (KLOR), are barebones operations that donate profits — some $24,000 a year — to charity. And some, like the CAP darts league, operate as a loss leader for a business to build its client base

"We purposely limit the success that we have, because we don't want it to become something different than it is," said Matt Miller, director of media operations and "Mr. Logistics" for KLOR. He will correct you if you call kickball a sport, saying it's just a game while reiterating the league's No. 1 rule: "Have fun."

Farr attributes softball's decline, at least in part, to the rise in kickball. KLOR — one of at least three kickball leagues in the area — started in 2007 with just four teams but has consistently topped 800 in recent years, and had a 40-team waiting list this fall. Ultimately, Miller said, the league reached capacity in available fields, T-shirt colors and daylight.

By comparison, CAP Amusement started running dart leagues in 2005 with 16 teams and about 64 players. Today, there are 850 players spread across an assortment of team configurations. Teams are tied to bars, which must use CAP Amusement for games, pool tables and jukeboxes. Said Janell Falvo, dart league coordinator: "The idea behind the league is to create more business for our locations, almost as a loss leader to get (both patrons and CAP) into the bar."

While kickball also relies on bar sponsors, Miller and Ryan Kimball, the league founder and director of operations, are not in the business and instead see the operation as a way to give back.

Both have day jobs and are undecided on whether to respond to the city's request for proposals.

"Once you start doing it for money or as a business, your decisions become vastly different," Kimball said.

Cobbs Hill Park and, maybe, the city side of Genesee Valley would present the only attractive options with a cluster of usable fields or open space. The league plays at the county-run portion of Genesee Valley, as well as Ellison and Highland parks. Grouping fields helps with logistics of scheduling, dropping off equipment, and the networking and atmosphere.

KLOR pays to rent the fields and its only maintenance is painting the baselines once a week. The league plays year-round.

Field maintenance is a big issue. It costs $5,000 to maintain one Little League or girls softball field for a year, $13,000 to maintain a larger field with major league base paths, said Mark Yaeger, commissioner of parks and recreation in Webster, which runs adult basketball, softball and soccer leagues but contracts out for its youth leagues.

"In general, we have seen a migration away from using us as folks to run these leagues, to nonprofit or private organizations," Yaeger said. "We still have the facilities so, consequently, we rent them out."

Penfield cancelled its softball league four of five years ago, concluding that participation levels no longer justified the field maintenance costs. The town continues to run other leagues, including adult basketball, volleyball and women's soccer where field maintenance is easier. Rochester, by comparison, also has volleyball and adult hockey leagues.

The city has, for the past 40-plus years, contracted with Rochester-based Brooklyn Sports Management to run its softball league and maintain the fields. They expect to submit a proposal to continue in that role, while others — including RocSports, which operates softball, kickball and bowling leagues — plan to submit competing proposals.

"Our policy with adult leagues is that they have to pay for themselves," Farr said. "We don’t want to take dollars away from programs we provide free for youth, (and) I don’t think we are looking to make a huge killing … but we would like them to pay for themselves, and maybe put some money back into the parks to help maintain them."

The city typically receives less than $10,000 in revenues from the softball league program.

BDSHARP@Gannett.com

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