Plymouth begins offering gift cards to sell recreation

Just in time for last-minute holiday shopping, Plymouth is now selling gift cards that can be used to rent picnic shelters, take classes or pay for camps and programs offered by the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

The west metro suburb sold its first gift card last week — somebody bought one for $25 for a teenager — as the city looks for ways to make it more convenient for residents and guests to pay for services from skating lessons to open gym tickets to visits to the community center's indoor playground.

"People are starting to come in and get them," said Kari Hemp, a manager with the Plymouth Parks and Recreation Department. "We did have requests from residents to have them. We are excited for them to be able to use these."

Anybody can buy the cards — residency not required — and in any amount, said Hemp, who has been pushing to have gift cards for the past eight years.

Plymouth becomes one of the few cities in the metro area to sell gift cards. A survey of several north metro cities found none offered them. But Brooklyn Park city spokeswoman Risikat Adesaogun called it an "interesting idea."

"They are looking for ways to draw more participation," said Deb Weinreis with the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association, noting that some programs took a hit with the onset of the pandemic and ensuing labor shortage and are trying to recover.

Anoka County Parks has sold gift cards since 2017, about 300 a year, said Andy Soltvedt, assistant parks director. But the park system installed a new platform to process sales last year and is hoping to push the cards a bit more and grow sales by 10% to 15% this year, he said.

Cards can used to buy park permits, rounds of golf, entry to the Bunker Beach wave pool and even concessions. Cards are reloadable, Soltvedt said.

Washington County sells gift cards that can be used to buy ski passes, firewood and "pretty much anything we sell in our offices," a spokesman said in an email.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, however, stopped selling gift cards in 2019. The demand was never strong, said spokeswoman Robin Smothers. But the main reason the Park Board stopped selling them was because new software systems were installed across the park system, and they were not the same from department to department.

"The redemption of gift cards issued through one system for redemption in another system became much more challenging," Smothers said. Previously issued gift cards will be honored for any program or fee, she said.

Back in Plymouth, Hemp said she thinks the cards will be popular with parents and grandparents who want to buy recreation for their kids and grandchildren.