Recreational Leagues at Your Sports Complex
Recreational leagues at your sports complex give parents and kids alike the opportunity to enjoy your facilities. Leagues improve your vendor and snack bar sales, and a well-run and exciting recreational league will make your sports complex an exciting place to be. Today, on the Sports Facilities Advisory blog, we would like to take the time to describe how to create a recreational league that will make your complex stand out, generate more revenue, and most importantly make a name for itself in the community.
Engage Players of All Age at Your Sports Complex
People of all ages enjoy the feelings of expending energy, developing skills, increasing camaraderie, and experiencing competition. Many people think of sports complexes catering only to the young, but that doesn’t need to be the case. Men and women can play at differing levels of competitiveness into their later years if given the opportunity.
Leagues Determined by Age
Appropriately spacing the age groups of your leagues will go a long way toward ensuring you maximize the amount of people who play. In sports like soccer, basketball, or football, 50-year olds might struggle to keep up with 20-year olds. In sports like volleyball, tennis, racquetball, or ping pong, however, age might only prove an advantage. Create age restricted leagues. Over-30, over-40, and over-50 are popularly used markers, but it’s important to understand that not everyone ages in the same way. Many players might stay competitive against 20-year olds well into their 40s, and the recreational league at your sports complex should accommodate them as well.
Encourage Competition…or Don’t
Everyone plays their favorite sports for different reasons. Some players love growing as athletes and gaining skills; their joy comes from always learning. Other players want only to compete; they play to fulfill the drive to win. Others, still, play simply for the communal spirit and socializing. A successful recreational league understands that no one of these reasons matters more than the other. To bring in the most players, improve your community’s health, and maximize your sports complex’s profits, you must allow these different players to have the experience that brought them to the sport.
Leagues Based on Competition
Consider forming multiple leagues within each age bracket. Some sports complexes label these A, B, C, etc., but you can just as easily come up with more playful names. C players aren’t necessarily worse than A or B players; they just come to the sport with a different intention. Designing beginner leagues with more playful or simpler rules can draw in people who have never played before.
Pictures and Social Media
Take lots of pictures of both adult and child athletes enjoying their games at your sports complex. It’s important to give players the opportunity to engage with your sports complex on social media. When they post about the fun they had playing in your recreational league or share your photos, these athletes are helping your market your brand.
Reach Out to Sports Facilities Advisory
If you have questions or concerns about how to make your sports complex or recreation center more marketable or economically viable, please reach out to us. Facility planning is our strength, but we also perform feasibility studies and mock up sports complex designs. Get in touch with our team at Sports Facilities Advisory today.
