6 key steps to run a successful sports facility

Running a facility that is purely designed for sports needs a well-thought out blueprint and a solid plan of action. Regardless of the size or nature of these facilities, the best practices to run a sports facility remain consistent. In this article, we will try to understand the challenges faced by sports facility managers and the fundamentals of running a successful sports facility - the assets, offerings, processes, and trends that should not be missed.

Running a facility that is purely designed for sports needs a well-thought-out blueprint and a solid plan of action. Regardless of the size or nature of these facilities, the best practices to run a sports facility remain consistent. In this article, we will try to understand the challenges faced by sports facility managers and the fundamentals of running a successful sports facility - the assets, offerings, processes, and trends that should not be missed.

After all, for sports facilities, income generation is intertwined with creating conditions for delivering entertainment to their spectators and quality to the players and participants.

What are the top challenges of running a sports facility?

Most sports facilities face operational challenges that keep managers on their toes as they try to address them effectively. Here are some of the top challenges that keep sports facility managers occupied today.

1. Managing programs‍
2. Regulating costs
3. Maintaining inventory
4. Optimizing communication
5. Time management
6. Increasing operational efficiency

Facility managers can face these challenges in the short term, but without proper long-term planning and execution, they may continue to hamper operations even if they’re being addressed regularly.

To run a successful sports facility, managers will need to look at the above challenges with a more strategic lens and follow the recommended steps to improve sports facility management.

How to run a successful sports facility?

1. Structure your programs
2. Plan your budget wisely
3. Optimize space utilization
4. Empower your staff
5. Regulate your operational costs
6. Integrate intuitive technology

Let's try and understand each of these points in details.

1. Structure your programs

The first thing a sports facility needs is a well organized roster of programs that will help people understand the nature of its services. Considering prospective customers could be anyone from uninitiated beginners to seasoned athletes looking to keep their fitness up, you need to prepare diverse programs that can cater to everyone.

Structuring your programs effectively can be a strong driver of revenue for your business as focused and specific programs will attract a niche audience. You can also enable facility bookings, where members can book facilities to use on their own time and attract customers who may not be looking for long term offerings. Shore up your retention by offering sweet membership deals that make it easier and more economical to access your more promising offerings.

To best frame your programs, you need to begin by profiling your potential customers. Look at the market in your community and the audience you attract online. Note and analyze their interests and behavior, map out their pain points, and what is currently on offer for athletes around you. Understanding what’s missing in the market today will also help you recognize the programs that you can offer at your facility and stand out amongst your competitors.

While you work on your offerings, it is also key to analyze your team, their capabilities, and their schedules. This will help you assign programs efficiently and optimize your services for your customers.

2. Plan your budget wisely

Running a sports facility is not easy, with a lot of factors to bear in mind. Among these, it is especially important to plan your finances in detail before you get started. Right from arranging facility amenities and equipment, to paying the staff, spending on maintenance and replacements, and generating enough revenues to stay afloat, having a practical budget for your sports facility will support better decision-making at every step in your business.

For a sports facility attached under a community recreation center, the community that uses the facility is one of the major channels for operational funds. For this, you might want to reach out to your community at large. Facilities could even sell workout wear or other branded sports goodies that not only help in sales but also promote the facility within the community. Recreation centres are also the subject of funds issued by state and federal governments every year and exploring these in advance could also help you plan your own finances better.

Most importantly, cash flow depends on the clients and members of the sports facility. Membership fees, facility usage fees, food and beverage sales, running a clubhouse bar, spectator fees at events, commercial sponsorships during events are some of the ways that actually make a significant difference.

Plan for both annual and seasonal budgets accordingly - not all seasons are suitable for all sports. Planning for dry months beforehand will help handle membership cancellations or unexpected costs better.

Budgeting not only means identifying areas where money could be spent but also areas where overspending should be avoided. Achieving balance here is extremely important to sustain the business of running a sports facility.

3. Optimize Space Utilization

For a huge facility, first designing the layout for different kinds of amenities like gymnasiums, basketball courts, natatorium pools, volleyball courts, squash courts, tennis courts, and the like may be easy for dividing up spaces. But not all sports facilities might cover an expansive area. The physical layout of the facility or complex matters primarily when space utilization is considered. Yet, that is not everything.

Another significant aspect of managing spaces in a facility is scheduling well. Make sure that your facility is open throughout the year by offering diverse and quality programs. And for this, effective space management would be the best way to maximize your profits. But, how do you do this?

• Even facilities with limited space can juggle with schedules for different kinds of games, sports and programs since few of the programs are seasonal and not offered throughout the year.
• Secondly, there are members from different age groups and schedules that suit them more. So planning schedules according to facility space is crucial.
• Utilizing spaces for rentals or hosting fitness classes that involves multiple participants helps. Using similar spaces for a variety of programs at different intervals also helps significantly.
• You could also look out for individuals or organizations who are in the same business as you but either work out of their homes or do not have adequate space to accommodate classes and rent out facility spaces likewise.

4. Empower your staff

Every organization runs successfully because of the people who work tirelessly to keep your operations flowing smoothly. The key to running a successful sports facility lies in uniting and empowering your staff in such a way that their mission is aligned with the larger goals of the organization or a facility, in this case. For a start, it is important that everyone understands what the ultimate purpose of the facility is and work closely to resonate this.

A successful sports facility is one where the trainers don’t feel like mere cogs but like a more integral part of the organization. Being able to manage their schedule and easily communicate with their clients helps them be at their productive best.

Using the best sports facility management software in the market will empower your staff to manage their schedules and availability, avoid double-bookings, and minimize back and forth communication to improve both productivity and member retention.

5. Regulate your operational costs

Even as you set an annual budget and manage your finances with a long term view, it is essential to not lose sight of your overheads. Keep an eye on your upkeep expenses, your expenditure on equipment and other spending that can be regulated on a daily basis. You’d be surprised by the seemingly marginal expenses that can be avoided with a few tweaks to your operations and how much they could save you in the long run!

A constantly shifting rental market means there is always an opportunity to pay less or find a better facility around the same price. Reviewing your lease or rental agreement from time to time in context of the local market will keep you up to date and ready to move if such opportunities pop up at any point.

As for other costs, it may not be too surprising, but sports facilities consume a significant amount of power! Considering they are usually well-lit, use heavy workout equipment, and maintain air conditioning and thermostats, energy efficiency is one of the core areas that needs attention at any sports facility.

To reduce energy consumption and keep operating costs low, sports facilities should be designed to allow abundant natural light and ventilation that supports proper air circulation. Games and activities that could be played outdoors should be encouraged. Switching to solar lighting and turning off the lights in rooms when not in use will also go a long way in reducing the burden of electricity costs.

6. Integrate intuitive technology

Over the last few years, the conventions of doing business have changed considerably. Sure, many among us may still prefer pen and paper for familiarity and comfort, but today’s digital solutions enable easier and faster ways of doing business that will change the game for you!

When you have multiple trainers, multiple sports, and a growing number of members to manage, technology can give you the support you need to organize your business efficiently. From automating your bookings and managing your memberships to establishing a more personal relationship with your members, there is a lot that the right sports facility management software can help you with as you go about your business.

Use marketing automation software to build and manage relationships. Not only do these tools take over regular, hum-drum routine tasks, but they come with features that can help you cater to each member individually, according to their needs.

As your business grows in size, it will also be important for you to secure your member’s data. The more members you acquire, the more data you will need to store, process, and analyze. Protecting this data is essential to retain your members’ trust in your business and doing it well would enhance your reputation and increase both your member count and your retention.

Conclusion

Running a successful sports facility today means making smart decisions at every turn. Maintaining a long term vision for your business will help you map out your plan to improve your facility and execute it with greater efficiency.

By simplifying and automating your operations, you can look closer at the areas of your business that need to be improved and then focus your efforts on doing so.

Omnify has helped fitness and wellness businesses save significant time and effort in operations and deliver better services to their members. Find out what Omnify’s sports facility management software can do for your business and kickstart your facility’s growth. Start our FREE TRIAL today!

As with any business, before opening a sports facility business you’ll need to do ample research and planning to set yourself up for long-term success. 

Invest time upfront to gain a thorough understanding of the fitness industry and the challenges that come with starting a new sports facility. With this knowledge, you can put strategic plans in place to navigate foreseeable obstacles, mitigate risk, increase profitability, and keep things running smoothly.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the basics of opening a sports facility business to help turn your dream into a reality!

A Beginner’s Guide to Opening a Sports Facility Business

Like any new business venture, opening a sports facility business will require significant preparation, planning, and investment. It’s absolutely critical to do your due diligence so you know what to expect and can prepare accordingly.

Below, we’ve put together a simple beginner’s guide to get you started. Following these steps will help make sure your new business venture is well-planned, properly registered, and legally compliant.

Name Your Sports Facility Business

Choosing a name for your sports complex may be one of the most fun decisions you’ll make as a new business owner; however, be aware it can be deceptively difficult to decide on a name that will be straightforward, intriguing, and one that will mature well with your business. Your business name will be around with you for a long time, so it’s important to carefully consider your options.

Once you’ve decided on a name for your sports facility business and confirmed its availability, it’s important to secure your domain name and social media handles as soon as possible—and before someone else does—so you can start building your online presence.

Define Your Target Market

If you want to attract and engage your target audience, you need to know who they are (i.e., local demographic data, including income levels, ages, population density, etc.), as well as what they like/dislike, and what their wants/needs are. 

Equipped with this thorough understanding of your customer base, you’ll be able to determine what sets your sports complex apart from competitors and tailor then your marketing materials accordingly to pique relevant interest and maximize engagement.

How to learn about your target audience:

Market research reports

You may want to consider purchasing market research reports to help you better understand the local community and its needs. This critical insight will help you decide how your sports complex can specifically fulfill those needs and add value to the community, which will largely impact your long-term viability and success. 

Competitor reviews 

Another way to learn about potential members is by reading online reviews about your direct competitors to see what customers have said. Pay close attention to what they like and what they don’t like about similar sports facilities—this will help you look for ways to potentially improve upon existing products or services, or identify opportunities to create and offer something new. 

Choose a Location

“Location. Location. Location.” It’s one of the most popular sayings in business for a pretty obvious reason—location matters. A lot. The physical location you choose for your sports facility business may very well be the difference between success and failure.

Your customer base will be heavily influenced by the location you choose. For example, if your facility is located near a school district or neighborhoods with young families, you’ll attract a larger customer base than you would if your location is far removed from residents, is in an unsafe on undesirable location, is located near competing businesses, or is in an area where residents have little to no interest in the sport.

You’ll also need to decide whether you purchase or lease a property as this will impact your location options. Once you find a location you love that’s within your budget, you’ll need to check the local zoning requirements to make sure your businesses will be in compliance so you don’t run into any unexpected legal issues.

Create a Business Plan

If you want to open a sports facility business, the first step is to develop a comprehensive business plan. Creating a business plan will help you develop a greater understanding of your industry, competitors, target market, and help you identify ways to differentiate your facility so you can plan for long-term success. 

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a written document that defines company goals and objectives, and explains how the company plans to achieve those goals. The best way to set yourself up for future success is to start with a solid plan—and an effective business plan should guide you through the phases of starting, managing and growing your sports facility business.

Think of your business plan as the compass that will guide your sports facility and keep everyone moving in the right direction. Your business plan is the place to put all of your thoughts and plans in one place, so it’s important to take your time to ensure you cover all elements and aspects of your sports facility complex.

Having a strong business plan will help you:

• Assess your competitors
• Develop a greater understanding of your target market
• Serve as a guide to grow your business
• Help you reach milestones
• Help you secure funding

What should my business plan include?

Below is an overview of key areas to include when creating your sports facility business plan:

Cover Page

A small yet fundamental component of your business plan is the cover page, which should include the name of your business, location, and contact information.

Table of Contents

The table of contents is where you’ll provide an outline of what readers can expect to find in your business plan. It also helps readers quickly skim or skip to the areas of greatest interest.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is where you’ll summarize the contents of your business plan in a concise, detailed and compelling way. 

This section should be no longer than one page, and should answer key questions such as:

• What are your business goals and how will you achieve them?
• Who is your target market?
• What are your financial projections?
• What’s your competitive advantage?

Industry Background

In this section, you’ll provide past and current information about the size, trends and critical features of your industry. This section should answer questions such as:

• What is the industry?
• What is the industry outlook?
• Who are the competitors?
• What are the barriers to entry?

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should provide key information about your major competitors, as well as an assessment of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

Market Analysis

Learning about your target market and their needs, preferences and demographic data is an integral part of any business plan. By identifying and understanding your target market, you’ll learn how—and where—to reach and connect with them. 

This section should also demonstrate that there is a real need or demand in the market that your new business will fulfill.

Sales and Marketing

In the sales and marketing section of your business plan, you’ll explain how you plan to allocate marketing resources to most effectively reach new customers and convert them into long term customers. Be sure to include specific marketing strategies and explain how they align with business goals and objectives.  

Cost Projections and Funding

The financial section is the foundation of any good business plan. It should provide current and future projections of your facility’s financial performance, and show how much money you need to generate in order to be profitable and poised for continued growth.

Cover the Legal Aspects

There are a number of legal requirements to opening a sports facility. In addition to registering your business name with the county clerk, you’ll also need to file articles of incorporation or articles of organization with your state government and pay a filing fee. 

It’s also recommended to purchase a business owner’s insurance policy, which will provide liability and property protection for your sports facility business.

Purchase Equipment & Supplies

Now it’s time to shop!

Prepare a list of everything you’ll need before opening your doors—from desk pens to equipment and machinery so you can plug it into your budget. You’ll also need to create a floor plan with dimensions noted to ensure you have the space and a plan for where everything will go.

Leverage Technology to Maximize Efficiency

As a sports facility business owner, it’s crucial to stay aware of what new technology is on the horizon, how it may benefit your sports business, and how it will affect the larger industry landscape. Equally as important, you must be willing to adapt and invest in technology to streamline and improve your business operations and remain competitive.

Gym management software continues to grow in popularity given its ability to increase efficiency and productivity, reduce the risk of human error, save time and money, and enhance the member experience. On top of that, the low upfront cost structure of a cloud-based software solution makes it a financially attractive option for fitness businesses of all sizes.

From scheduling staff and fitness classes to overseeing equipment maintenance and inspections, the number of moving parts at any given time can be overwhelming. Without the right organizational tools, clear communication channels, and effective oversight, things can get out of hand pretty quickly and result in costly errors.

Turn your dream of starting a sports facility business into a reality!

Before opening a sports facility business, it’s vital to conduct thorough market research, create a comprehensive business plan, and actively promote the business.

Another way to contribute to the success of your new business venture is to start with a solid framework and management software system in place to help streamline administrative tasks, improve communication and collaboration, enhance membership management, simplify financials, and more—saving you valuable time and money.

EZFacility is here to help with tools to start and manage your business successfully—including facility management software, online registration, league management, and a mobile app for your members.  

Want to learn more? Schedule a free online demonstration and personalized product tour today.