Developing A Monthly Budget For Your Recreation Center
For facility developers, it’s important to remember the more practical aspects of your facility development process. It can be easy to get lost in the vision and mission of your facility and forget about things like the monthly budget. If you are developing a facility like a recreation center, that monthly budget is even more critical.
Today, Sports Facilities Management will discuss some tips for developing the monthly budget at your recreation center.
Defraying Upfront Costs
Building a recreation center — or any complex, for that matter — costs a lot of money up front. It is vital for your facility that you have a robust monthly budget that considers the upfront costs and helps to manage them. Especially in the early stages of your development process, you need a budget that accounts for month-to-month variations in expenses so that you aren’t thrown any curveballs during the pre-opening process.
Upfront capital costs for a facility can often be substantial, so having the proper monthly budget in place will be very important in keeping your facility on balance for long-term success.
Sticking To The Plan
As you get closer to your recreation center’s grand opening and your financial position becomes more evident, it can be easy to let your guard down and take some liberties with your budget. However, to maintain your financial position you will need to stick to your original plan and stay close to your financial forecast documents.
As noted, your month to month expenses can vary, especially in the weeks and months after your grand opening, so keeping your budget tight will be key.
Don’t Get Carried Away With Best-Case Scenarios
When developing the budget itself, it is tempting to look at the best-case scenarios and run with them. And while many of your documents, specifically your original pro forma, will be built on the best-case scenario, it’s important to keep a close eye on the current market conditions and the position of your community.
It can be difficult to lock down a tight budget in the early stages of your recreation center, so you will need to check the pulse of the market and your community continually. This will allow you to make adjustments when needed and prevent you from any significant budgeting mistakes.
Contact SFM For Budgeting Tips On Your Recreation Center
Budgeting is a complicated aspect of developing your recreation center, and Sports Facilities Management wants to step in and help take the burden off of your shoulders. For more information, get in touch with us at (727) 474-3845 or contact us online today.
