Youth Athletic Facilities Program

Youth Athletic Facilities Program is sponsored by Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) - Washington State. Provides grants to buy land and develop or renovate outdoor athletic facilities such as ball fields, courts, swimming pools, mountain bike tracks, and skate parks that serve youth through the age of eighteen. Encourages facilities to serve all ages and multiple activities.

RCO - Washington Recreation & Conservation Office --> Youth Athletic Facilities - RCO Youth Athletic Facilities The Youth Athletic Facilities program provides grants to buy land and develop or renovate outdoor athletic facilities such as ball fields, courts, swimming pools, mountain bike tracks, and skate parks that serve youth through the age of eighteen.

While the program focuses on youth, RCO strongly encourages grant recipients to design facilities to serve all ages and multiple activities. An athletic facility is an outdoor facility used for playing sports or participating in competitive athletics and excludes playgrounds, tot lots, vacant lots, open or undeveloped fields, and level open space used for non-athletic play.

Grant Application Schedule Application Webinar, Applications Open View the recorded webinar May 1, 2026 - June 18, 2026 Estimate Technical Completion Deadline Project Evaluation (written) August 3, 2026 - August 28, 2026 Board Approves Preliminary Ranked Lists Most recent grants and evaluation results, listed by the application year.

Applicant Authorization Resolution Certification of Applicant Match Form Department of Natural Resources Scope of Work Acknowledgement Form Electronic Signature Authorization Form Manual 3: Acquisition Projects Manual 4: Development Projects Map to Determine "Project Need-Statewide Priorities" Score RCO’s Application Webinar recording is now available! New for 2026: The manual for this year’s grant round will be published in February.

But until then, here’s a sneak peek at upcoming changes: Acquisition of land currently or previously managed by a public entity is eligible. Sponsors have eighteen months from the board funding meeting to acquire land in a combination project. Earnest or option payments incurred before the execution of a grant agreement are an eligible pre-agreement cost if they are applied to the purchase price of the land acquired.

Adding lights to a field to allow evening games Changing an underused tennis court to a high-demand basketball court Changing the field surface, such as installing artificial turf, to allow more games per season or more seasons when the field may be used Expanding a youth-sized softball field to accommodate broader community uses Cities, towns, and park districts with ten thousand or fewer residents.

Counties with fewer than sixty-thousand residents are eligible, but the project must be in an unincorporated area. For nonprofit organizations, the population of the jurisdiction where the project lies will apply. Agencies Eligible for Small Grants Download Cities, counties, towns, park districts Qualified nonprofit organizations Funding comes from the sale of state bonds and is awarded every two years.

Small Grants=Up to $350,000 (total project cost including match must be no greater than $700,000) Large Grants=$25,000-$1. 5 million Applicants must contribute match that equals the amount of the grant request.

Match may include the following: Donations of cash, labor, equipment, and materials Applicant’s labor, equipment, and materials Some local agencies may reduce their match if they meet any of the criteria below: Architectural and engineering costs. Areas associated with track and field events. Land acquisition for future development of eligible facilities.

Outdoor athletic fields, such as baseball, lacrosse, and soccer fields. Outside pools for competitive events. Sport courts outdoors such as tennis or basketball courts.

Support elements such as landscaping, restrooms, drinking fountains, bleachers, bike racks, scoreboards, signs, roads, driveways, fire lanes, and parking lots. These projects must include an “in bounds” item, which is an item found within the field of play or on the court or track and is essential for the competitive sport to occur. Refer to the Manual 17: Youth Athletic Facilities for more details or contact a grants manager.

This requirement does not apply to stand-alone accessibility improvement projects in the Small Grants Category.

Acquisition or combination projects in the Small Grants Category Any facility intended exclusively or primarily for professional or semi-pro sports use Any work done on a facility not eligible for a YAF grant Consumable supplies such as light bulbs, toilet paper, fertilizer, chalk, and fuel Elements that cannot be defined as fixtures or capital items, such as uniforms, bats, balls, and coolers Indoor facilities such as gyms, courts, pools, ice rinks Multiple Small Grant Category applications at the same facility or location in the same biennium Organizational operating expenses or overhead including staff salaries Purchase of maintenance equipment, tools, or supplies Routine maintenance such as lawn mowing Signs or displays promoting tobacco products or alcoholic beverages Utility payments such as monthly water or electric bills Concession buildings or concessionaire space Land acquired with YAF grants must be kept available for outdoor recreation purposes forever.

Land or facilities renovated with these grants must be available for public youth or community athletic use for at least twenty years after RCO accepts the project as complete. Some upcoming grant application deadlines may be adjusted due to the government shutdown. Find deadline updates on the corresponding grant pages.

PRISM, RCO’s database for grant project management, is unavailable. Thank you for your patience as we work to get it back online.