Recreation facility trends in community centers have fluctuated in years’ past; from simple court sports and lap pools in the 1970s-80s, inclusion of entertainment and group exercise in the 1980s-90s, integrated medical programs and spa services in the 1990s-00s, and custom/personal service and specialties based on demographics in today’s facilities. The types of training people are interested in have also shifted–core (i.e. sit-ups, push-ups, and curl-ups) and strength training (i.e. free-weights and calisthenics) is today’s priority.
Planning efforts typically fail for three main reasons: Lack of leadership, unrealistic timeframe for completion, and/or rushing the planning effort. In order to avoid these pitfalls, I encourage you to follow these five planning steps:
Step 1–Establish goals.
- What do you want to achieve and why?
- Identify the project’s top three priorities.
Step 2–Collect and analyze your facts.
- Think about the options – should you remodel an existing building or does it make more sense to build a new facility?
- Conduct a facility assessment.
- Know your local competition.
- Identify the facilities strengths and weaknesses, threats or concerns, and current program/activities.
- Analyze annual revenue.
- Research demographic trends.
Step 3–Uncover and test concepts.
- Gain public input with focus groups, stakeholder interviews, resident surveys, and public hearings.
Step 4–Define your needs.
- Develop a realistic project schedule.
- Establish a total project budget.
Step 5–Gain approval.
Final thought: Develop improvements that reflect your community.
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