Nationwide | Sports Planning Guide

The Never-Ending Battle of Facility Maintenance: Four Keys to Stay Ahead of the Game

Keeping a premier youth and amateur sports facility at the forefront of a booming industry is a never-ending endeavor of facility maintenance, technology improvements, planning and hard work. As if the ravages of time, weather, leaks and spills aren’t enough, add in chewing gum, cleats, crumb rubber, bouncing balls and mountains of trash. Maintaining a world-class facility and keeping it looking brand new is truly a nonstop job.

Gary Alexander: A Hall of Fame Career

Even the most meticulous of planners often find their lives in a position they weren’t expecting thanks to the capriciousness that is the human condition.

For 2018 National Association of Sports Commissions Hall of Famer Gary Alexander, his life trajectory has taken him to places he never anticipated when he was a humble gymnast growing up in Colorado.

Planning and Growing New Sports Programs at Traditional Facilities

Today’s youth and amateur sports and recreation landscape is more diverse and dynamic than ever before. While this can be a benefit for people who are afforded options and opportunities to choose their activities, many “traditional” athletic facilities are struggling to maintain steady utilization, leaving operators in a reactive mode that makes programming, scheduling, budgeting and hitting the budget nearly impossible.

Dragon Boat Festivals are Captivating the Country

For more than 2,500 years, the sport of dragon boat racing has delighted spectators throughout southern China.

The sport’s North American lineage doesn’t stretch quite as far back (it has maintained a presence in Canada and the United States for the past 35 years), but, much like China, it has seen its popularity surge as competitors and fans alike have embraced the unique competition.