Sports facilities are born out of vision. Whether it’s an opportunity to capture a piece of the $15 billion sports tourism industry or to increase access to athletics and recreation for local citizens, it starts with an idea and the desire to push it forward. However, if that vision is refined, developed, and supported all the way to opening day, it becomes about execution. It also becomes about the components that impact execution such as operations, the team, back office processes, and the competitive landscape, among many other items. While many communities and private entities show tremendous commitment and do an amazing job managing their venues, it takes a significant amount of resources to help them achieve their definitions of success and foster continued growth.
Given the substantial investment that sports facilities represent and the potential for elevating the communities around them, more and more sports destinations are turning to outsourced facility management as a way to position themselves for long-term success. While some of these facilities are choosing outsourced operations as a way to turn around an underperforming asset, many have selected outsourcers to enhance an already successful facility with industry best practices as well. Either way, outsourcing sports facility management is an effective strategy for maximizing the impact your venue can make on your community.
At the Sports Facilities Companies, we are committed to serving the youth sports industry with specialized services that drive peak performance in all areas of venue operations. In doing so, we’ve discovered a number of benefits that communities and private owners have experienced from outsourcing. We’ve captured a few of them in this article:
Evaluating facilities and making effective changes: It takes more than one action to increase ROI. Having worked with hundreds of facilities, outsourced management firms can utilize best practices to achieve small incremental gains across many areas. This can lead to new revenue streams and gradual savings that can improve a facility’s bottom line.
Bringing value to all aspects of the guest experience: In today’s market, standing out is essential for attracting event rights holders and guests to your complex. Outsourced facility management firms help venues provide not only an amazing sports experience but an amazing family experience as well. This includes providing a high-quality food & beverage experience, adjusting field layout, providing gathering spaces, social media engagement, and superior customer service.
Increasing resources: Even the most successful facilities can only do so much on their own due to a lack of resources. A benefit of outsourcing is the use of shared services to help alleviate “back of house” costs and tasks that typically burden facilities such as marketing, human resources, legal, and accounting. This allows the facility operators to focus on excelling in areas that drive revenue such as food and beverage, retail, sponsorship, and innovative programming.
Elevating high-performing facilities: High-performing facilities can utilize outsourcing to go from “good to great” in a variety of ways, including generating new revenue streams from events or sponsorships. They can also fill scheduling gaps by developing local programming. Even the most successful facilities have an offseason or are slow during the week. An outsourced management company can assess opportunities in the local market and develop programming around it.
Re-opening during the COVID-19 crisis: With so much uncertainty surrounding when facilities can re-open, communities are turning to outsourced management companies to develop processes for creating a safe environment for athletes, their families, and for team members. For SF Companies’ clients, this included developing best practices for cleaning and social distancing based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health officials.
Ready to learn more about how The SF Companies can drive these outcomes for your sports facility? Contact us today at 727-474-3845.
