I want this business to thrive. But he has to manage it in a manner that is contained and done properly, while following the rules and regulations.”

Tiverton Town Administrator Chris Cotta

The Longplex Family and Sports Center has twice recently been in violation of state fire codes that require facilities to hire a firefighter when occupancy levels exceed 301 people, members of the Tiverton Town Council learned Monday night.

Additionally, officials say the venue has insufficient parking for its patrons, and this has resulted in overflow parking on nearby town roads, which represents a safety hazard to the community.

At Monday’s council meeting, town administrator Chris Cotta told councilors that the fire and police departments have been grappling with these issues for the past six to eight months and have yet to reach a satisfactory resolution with the company’s owner, Jim Long.

The Longplex, located at 300 Industrial Road, is a 187,000-square-foot facility featuring numerous sports-related attractions, including football and soccer fields, a hockey rink, full-sized basketball and volleyball courts, a full gym, and a fitness center. Amenities include a bar and grill, an arcade, and a child care center.

Cotta submitted documentation to the council that included police incident reports relating to occupancy issues and parking complaints as well as copies of letters to Long from Tiverton Fire Marshal Daniel Murphy.

One of Murphy’s letters, dated Sept. 28, 2021, referred to a sporting event at the facility that was attended by approximately 400 to 500 people. The letter cited the state’s fire code relating to occupancy limits and said the facility’s management must schedule a detail firefighter 72 hours prior to all events in which more than 301 people will be in attendance.

A police incident report refers to an apparent violation of the occupancy limit that occurred on March 18. According to the report, when Murphy arrived to investigate, Long began to argue with him and accused him of harassment. Murphy then contacted the State Fire Marshal’s office, which dispatched two representatives to the facility to meet with Long. The report does not describe the outcome of that meeting. The following day, an incident report shows police officers and Murphy again visited the facility and observed that occupancy limits appeared once again to have been exceeded.

Cotta told the council Long must operate his business under the constraints of state laws.

“If somebody get hurt, the liability falls onto the taxpayers of Tiverton,” he said.

In terms of parking, Cotta said that if the facility only has 200 or 300 parking spaces, Long must schedule events and league games accordingly, so spaces are available as people come and go. Currently, he said, overflow parking from the facility often ends up on both sides of nearby public roads, which makes it impossible for emergency vehicles to get through. 

“I want this business to thrive,” said Cotta. “But he has to manage it in a manner that is contained and done properly, while following the rules and regulations.”

Cotta said the state and Tiverton’s fire marshals will meet this week to review their concerns. Council Vice President Mike Burk asked Cotta to provide councilors with an update at their next meeting.

Long did not attend Monday night's meeting and could not be reached to comment.