City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: Kye Stevens, Recreation Director
Date: 05/12/2026
Subject: Recreation Management Registration Services - Playmetrics RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Approve and authorize the Mayor to sign the Agreement with Playmetrics, LLC for recreation registration management and payment processing services for the City of Ripon.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Ripon has utilized Sports Connect (formerly Blue Sombrero) since August 2016 to provide online registration and payment services for recreation programs. On June 11, 2025, Genstar Capital acquired Sports Connect and is merging Sports Connect with Playmetrics. As part of this transition, Sports Connect will be discontinued after 2026, and Playmetrics will become the successor platform for online registration and payment services.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Staff has evaluated alternative recreation registration management systems by consulting with other recreation departments, participating in software demonstrations and meeting with several software providers.
After completing the review process, staff narrowed the options to the following vendors:
Vendor Set-up Fee Annual Fee Credit Card
Fee 1
Notes
CivicRec $5,095 $11,343 2.99% City has not had a positive experience with this vendor who also updated the City’s
website.
Community Pass $3,000 $6,500 2.99% Missing priority functions. Not recommended based on feedback from other cities.
Playmetrics $0 $3 per transaction 3.4% Similar to current platform.
1. The credit card fees are collected by the City as part of the user registration fee and paid by the City to the software vendor.
Staff recommends Playmetrics because it most closely aligns with the City’s current Sports Connect system, which has functioned effectively for many years with overall positive feedback from users. In addition, Playmetrics has agreed to grandfather the City into its existing pricing structure, resulting in no implementation or annual subscription costs to the City.
Under the proposed agreement, the transaction fees are paid directly by the user at the time of registration. Credit card processing fees would remain substantially similar to the City’s current arrangement with Sports Connect.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fees will remain the same as they were with Sports Connect so moving to Playmetrics does not impact the City’s General Fund. The City currently pays $10,000 - $12,000 per year in credit card fees, which the City collects from users at the time of registration.
Attachments:
1. Playmetrics Quote