Managing sport facilities

368 Pages·2010·10.21 MB·English

by  Gil Fried

second edition
ManaGinG
sport
Facilities
Gil Fried
University of New Haven
Human Kinetics
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fried, Gil, 1965-
Managing sport facilities / Gil Fried. -- 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8290-7 (hard cover)
ISBN-10: 0-7360-8290-5 (hard cover)
1. Sports facilities--Management--Textbooks. I. Title.
GV401.F75 2010
725.8043--dc22
2009034955
ISBN-10: 0-7360-8290-5 (print)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8290-7 (print)
Copyright © 2010, 2005 by Gil Fried
All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying,
and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission
of the publisher.
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To all the men and women who keep our public assembly facilities running

contents
Preface  vii  ■  Acknowledgments  xi
Part I Introduction to Sport Part II Facility Development . . . . . . . . . 75
Facility Management . . . . . . . . . . 1
4 
Facility Planning 77
1 
History and Future of Sport
and Public Assembly Facilities 3 Fundamentals of Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Planning for Existing Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Facilities in Ancient Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Planning for Future Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Facilities From the Middle Ages to the 1800s . . . . . . . . . . 9 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Facility Management From Ancient to Modern Times . . . 10
Evolution of Professional and Collegiate Facilities . . . . . 11
5 
Facility Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Facility Site and Design 99
The Future of Sport Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Trends That Will Affect Future Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Site Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Site Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Site Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Facility Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
2 
Facility Management 25 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
What Is Facility Management? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6 
The Facility Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Facility Construction 123
Constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Managerial Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Construction Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Preconstruction Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Construction Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Project Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
3 
Management Theory Completion and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
and Human Resources 43 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Management Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Part III Facility Systems
Computer-Aided Facility Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
and Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Simple Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Outsourcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 7 
Facility Systems 151
Sport Facility Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Employment Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Hiring Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Air Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Employee Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Energy Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Plumbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Legal Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Interior Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Exterior Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Combined Interior and Exterior Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
■ v
vi  ■  Contents
8  12 
Facility Operations 175 Legal Responsibilities 261
Space Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Basic Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Specialized Components in Sport Facilities . . . . . . . . . 178 Tort Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Establishing Grass Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Risk Management and Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Maintaining Grass Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Additional Outdoor Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Property Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 Constitutional Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Government Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
9 
Facility Maintenance 197
Part V Event and activity Management 279
Maintenance and Repair Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Maintenance Audits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Maintenance Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 13 
Implementing a Security Plan 281
Facility Repair Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Basic Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
What Is Security? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Crowd Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Other Safety Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Part IV Facility administration . . . . . . . 213 Crisis Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
10 
Marketing and Sales 215
14 
Facility Preparation
Marketing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 and Event Management 301
The Marketing Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Facility Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Revisiting Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Attracting Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238 Event Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Postevent Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Postevent Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
11 
Finance and Budgeting 239 Marketing for the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Marketing Efforts and Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Financial Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 Facility Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Revenue and Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Financial Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Budgeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
New Facility Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Selling a Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Glossary  333  ■  References  339  ■  Index  347  ■  About the Author  355
preface
Almost all of us have fond memories of a sport- the Purpose of this Book
related experience. The experience might
entail our first game as a spectator, our first request The question this book addresses is how to effec-
for a ballplayer’s autograph, or even eating our tively manage a sport facility. Although the book
first hot dog. We may look back at having won- focuses on sport facilities, much of the subject
derful seats to watch a game, catching a foul ball matter is also applicable to any number of public
in the stands, or attending a game with a special assembly facilities, including music theaters,
promotional giveaway. Whatever the experience, auditoriums, convention centers, and high school
more than likely a sport facility was involved. and college arenas and stadiums. Public facilities
When people think about large sport facili- can also include bowling alleys, health clubs,
ties, they often focus on how to navigate through sportsplexes, park and recreation facilities, and
crowds and traffic in the shortest possible amount numerous other natural and man-made environ-
of time. Others might think about the sights, ments.
sounds, and smells that made an event memo- Written for students in sport and facility man-
rable. Still others might have negative thoughts agement, as well as professionals already working
based on a professional team’s threats to move in the field, the text provides a comprehensive
if not given a new facility. For smaller facilities knowledge base. An introductory-level discussion
such as health clubs, people might think about is provided for those who have never before stud-
convenience and the breadth of services available. ied sport facility management (FM). Thus, after
For those managing sport facilities, the facil- reading this book, beginning students will have
ity experience is vastly different. Indeed, very a solid grasp of the fundamental skills in FM and
few people realize what an enormous undertak- will have the knowledge base to apply those skills
ing it is to develop and operate these facilities. in the real world. In-depth explanation, real-world
For example, how much toilet paper needs to be examples, and detailed assessment of various FM
ordered for 1,000 bathroom stalls? How many issues are also provided to expand understand-
hot dogs need to be ordered if 70,000 fans will be ing and spur knowledge application for industry
attending a game? What happens when the facil- professionals. Some of the FM concerns discussed
ity’s water pressure is interrupted? What if a major in this text are preventive maintenance, facil-
generator breaks during a sporting event? What if ity planning, event administration, box office
a storm or an environmental disaster damages (or management, house and grounds management,
destroys) the playing field? How do you promote a systems management, marketing, finance, and
rock concert one day and a monster truck pull the personnel administration.
next? How do you change over a facility from an It should be noted that every facility and its
ice hockey surface to a basketball surface in just management structure is different. Some facili-
three hours without ruining the ice? How do you ties rely on an owner to make all decisions, from
handle disorderly or rowdy fans and customers? designing the building and obtaining funds to
How do you hire and manage a part-time staff of removing the trash every day. Other facilities, pri-
possibly 600 ushers, concessionaires, ticket takers, marily larger ones, have multiple people serving
and security personnel? What happens when a in different capacities and may have a financial
facility runs into financial hardships? These are consultant developing the funding strategy, a
just some of the questions that a facility manager construction manager working during construc-
has to face on a daily basis. This book was written tion, a facility manager handling bookings, and an
to help highlight the broad array of responsibili- outside contracting company providing security
ties faced by facility managers. and concession services.
■ vii
viii  ■  Preface
The comprehensive overview this book offers is how managers utilize and manage employees as
currently not available from other texts. Most FM well as other human resources issues.
books focus on safety, marketing, construction, or Part II analyzes the complex process of decid-
event management. They fail to combine these ing to build and finance a facility. Various topics
important disciplines into one comprehensive text such as the validity of feasibility studies, how to
and rarely cover important topics such as the his- select a site, and how to handle environmental
tory of sport facilities, the types of systems within impact issues are discussed. This part of the text
a building, and the ways in which buildings are continues with an in-depth analysis of the initial
actually built and managed. This text covers FM facility business planning process, a discussion of
for a sport facility in a comprehensive manner how to obtain financial and political support, and
that includes both educational references and an examination of the various types of facilities
professional industry insight. and fields that can be built. This part highlights
The need for a comprehensive sport FM text the facility building process, including analysis
has been highlighted over the past several years of how to develop a site plan to maximize the
with the push to build large high-technology sport available resources. Part II ends with a thorough
facilities that are more complex to operate and analysis of the construction process to build a
manage than in the past. Similarly, fitness, recre- facility.
ation, and sport facilities have fueled significant After a facility is built, it has to be operated.
career opportunities that present unique issues Part III covers the operations side of facilities (both
such as how to develop a facility business plan internal and external) and such topics as mainte-
including feasibility studies; what finance vehicle nance and housekeeping. Systems management is
is most effective for raising necessary capital; how covered, with emphasis on major systems such as
to control costs through preventive maintenance; facility infrastructure, HVAC (heating, ventilation,
how to schedule and book event dates; and how to and air conditioning), energy management, waste
market luxury and premium seating to maximize management, and all exterior systems.
revenue. Through reading and understanding this Part IV analyzes the FM process by looking at
text, a current or future sport facility manager will some of the critical administrative areas that a
be in a better position to respond effectively to facility manager supervises. This part covers some
new challenges. of the nuts and bolts associated with FM, such as
marketing, finance, legal issues, risk management,
How this text Is Organized and the entire administrative process.
Part V examines the actual running of a sport
After presenting an overview of sport facilities facility during large events. The primary concern
through the ages, the text focuses on what is for any facility is safety and this section starts with
involved in FM and on the manager’s primary analyzing the risk management issues associated
responsibility: getting employees at the facility to with managing crowds and disasters. The section
accomplish their jobs. The text walks the reader ends with a step-by-step process of how to first
through the basics, from developing a facility attract events and then put on those events.
through running a facility. It then turns to issues
involved in running programs and personnel. How to Use this text
Lastly, the text examines what is required to pro-
duce a high-quality event at a sport facility. The Besides the educational material contained within
book is organized into five parts. the discussions of the various topics, the text is
Part I of the book is an introduction to the sport organized to clearly convey concepts through
facility industry. A brief historical perspective several strategies. Each chapter lists specific
helps highlight how sport facilities have evolved objectives and includes a chapter overview as
over the years. Chapter 2 addresses the role of well as a chapter summary and several discus-
facility managers and the various concerns they sion questions and activities. Among the most
face. Since facility managers must accomplish important elements in each chapter are sections
goals primarily through employees, chapter 3 titled “Facility Focus” and “Behind the Scenes.”
deals with the art of effective managerial com- The facility focus sections provide information
munication and leadership. Chapter 3 also covers about particular facilities, including important
Preface  ■  ix
facts and strategies used by the facility to succeed. just statistics but also a sense of what issues the
The behind-the-scenes material presents unique facility faces. Several major new facilities were
concerns and strategies that can make a facility built since the last edition. Thus, I have incorpo-
manager more successful. All these elements rated some of them into the text, such as the new
combine to help weave the material into a full Yankee Stadium and Cowboys Stadium. Each
and coherent picture of the subject. chapter has an introduction written by an indus-
try executive highlighting what he or she does
Updates to this Edition on a daily basis and how material in that specific
chapter fits into his career. Whether a sport archi-
I was very touched by the support I received after tect is discussing how he plans to build a facility
writing the first edition of this text. Possibly the or a major facility executive is highlighting how
best response was from facility managers them- she motivates her employees, these introductions
selves who highlighted that the text was the first highlight the text’s value for those working in the
book they had read that was able to capture the industry. They also encourage the reader to think
essence of what it meant to be a facility manager. about how theory can be applied in the workplace.
When I was asked how I could improve on a One of the key benefits of this second edition
text used at more than 100 universities, I had to is the instructor orientation adopted by both the
think outside the proverbial box. When I teach author and publisher. While some material was
sport facility management, I normally teach half made available to past textbook adopters, the new
the class from the textbook and the remainder of version will be enhanced by PowerPoint slides for
class time is spent working on projects, listening each chapter; a 20-minute video highlighting the
to guest speakers, and visiting facilities. Since it is building of a sport facility; an instructor’s guide
impossible to visit a facility in a textbook, I tried that provides innovative teaching options; and a
to incorporate the next best thing— expanding the large test bank of true or false, multiple choice,
facility focus sections and adding a new section and essay exam questions available to all textbook
with industry experts introducing each chapter. adopters. These ancillary materials are available
Each chapter contains at least one facility focus, at www.HumanKinetics.com/ManagingSportFa-
which has been expanded to give the reader not cilities.
Note to Students
When I started my academic career at the University of New Haven in 2004,
it never occurred to me how much planning, intelligence, and perfecting it
took to keep each spectator safe and run a facility. On a facility tour of Shea
Stadium in New York, Professor Fried and the stadium staff explained several
aspects of the park that would seem trivial to any fan. A strategically placed
b
railing allowed a more efficient crowd flow into the gates, which subsequently u
ol
H
allowed all bags and persons to be inspected quickly and thoroughly. The ert 
b
stadium’s rules and regulations were announced over the PA system and o
R
reinforced with mounted signs and placards. All of these minutiae were in esy of 
effect before a single spectator even went through the turnstile. urt
o
C
In the fall of 2005, Gil brought together several different employers for a
career fair at UNH. The Arena at Harbor Yard was one of these employers.
The arena is a state-of-the-art multisport facility located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and is home to the
Bridgeport Sound Tigers and some college teams. I was fortunate to gain employment at the 8,400-seat
facility, which was built in 2001, based on my previous work experiences at my local ice hockey rink.
Being a naive 19-year-old full-time student had its benefits when facing my first real-world job. When
I started my job I had a basic understanding and foundation of how to maintain ice, use a Zamboni ice
resurfacer, and listen to directions, as well as a giant thirst for new knowledge in facility management.
Both my colleagues at Bridgeport and UNH gave me the tools to launch a great experiential education
that only working could provide.
x  ■  Preface
My first year at Bridgeport was demanding at times, but ultimately it gave me an invaluable sense of
what went into a production. I worked nights and weekends at the arena breaking down staging, securing
dasher boards, installing glass partitions, removing the graphite flooring off the ice surface, preparing
the ice, stowing equipment, and making normal repairs to the building no matter where it needed it.
The second year brought even more responsibility as I began to work during the Bridgeport Sound Tiger
games for emergency repairs and general operations.
While working at the arena I took “Sport Facility Management,” taught by Professor Fried. As is true
in any subject or industry, you can achieve a full understanding of a topic only by first learning the
philosophy of the subject; applying it in the real world; and then going back to critique, modify, and
reimplement that knowledge. Enter Managing Sport Facilities by Gil Fried, first edition. This was the
first textbook I not only read from cover to cover but also showed constantly to other people (my room-
mates hated sport facilities by the end of the semester!). The facility focus sparked frequent lunchtime
conversations among classmates and friends. The simplicity of breaking down a facility by description,
interesting facts, and its importance allows students to grasp the concept much easier than spending
a full hour lecturing about it. Referencing these facilities became even easier with this book’s format.
Managing Sport Facilities is one of the greatest walkthrough guides for any course out there. Gil
separates this book into a very unique and easy-to-use layout. Starting with a history of facilities and
how to manage them allows a person to become acquainted with the material and what running a
building really is like. The first part was very near and dear to me as it enabled me to gain a better
understanding of what roles my coworkers and I were playing at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
The chapters on planning, designing, building, and maintaining the actual structure became a one-of-
a-kind experience for me. I had a trifecta of learning at my fingertips as we spent several weeks discuss-
ing these topics. First, I had my actual lived experiences at the arena doing this hands-on; second, Gil’s
expertise at teaching and his book served as the philosophy and intellectual fuel; third, our in-class trips
to different facilities mixed with the end-of-semester project (building our own facility from scratch)
allowed us to literally put on our facility manager’s hats and find problems and solutions.
The rest of the book allowed us to come full circle with our course work and built-from-scratch facility
projects to become better facility managers, able to run an effective facility of our own one day. In the end,
the course instilled two pillars of knowledge inside me. One consisted of hands-on knowledge created
via class trips, media, and lectures; and the other was made up of all of the teachings and knowledge
found in Managing Sport Facilities.
I hope you will enjoy and learn from this second edition as much as I enjoyed and learned from the
first. I would also like to personally welcome you to Gil Fried’s beautiful world of sport facility manage-
ment. This man not only made my college and early work career bearable (with the exception of a few
of his projects and exams!) but also filled it with an enormous amount of knowledge that is truly, truly
invaluable. From the many hours spent in his office deciphering the best path through the sport industry
and life, I can confidently say that Gil takes tremendous pride in his work, his texts, and the molding of
each student’s mind and attitudes. Thank you, Gil, and congratulations on all of your successes!
—Rob Holub, BS 2008, MBA 2009, University of New Haven