Contrary to popular belief, they do not come simply because youve built a facility and/or created a new event. It takes a strong feasibility study, informative market research, and a well-developed marketing strategy and plan to get them to the facility and/or event. One area of potential growth is in the youth sport tourism sector. The Sports Facilities Advisor (SFA) observed that sport recreation centers can serve as a destination for competitive amateur and youth sport events but fail to meet their potential because of poor planning and management (PRWeb.com, 2014). The Vadnais Sports Center in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, area is a classic example of the if we build it, they will come mentality that utterly failed. The facility was built in 2010 through the support of $26 million in revenue bonds issued by Vadnais Heights on behalf of the nonprofit group Community Facility Partners (Anderson, 2014). After poor revenue projections and growth through rentals, the city found itself covering shortfalls of hundreds of thousands of dollars (PRWeb.com, 2014). In 2013, the facility was put up for sale after Community Facility Partners defaulted on the bonds when the city stopped financial support (Anderson, 2014). In the spring of 2014, Ramsay County signed a letter of intent to buy the facility for $10.5 million.
Suppose Ramsay County has decided to outsource management of the facility to your private sport management firm. The first order of business for your firm is to develop a strong marketing strategy and plan to make this facility profitable in the next 3 years. Before you can do this, however, you need information in order to develop the strongest plan possible. Answer the following questions:
Resources for Case Study: Information on the Vadnais Sports Center purchase: http://www.startribune.com/local/east/253303441.httml (Links to an external site.); Vadnais Sports Center website: http://www.vadnaissportscenter.net (Links to an external site.)
What are the new mission and vision for this facility? How do they differ from in the past and how will they influence positive change in the future?
Develop a marketing plan based on the information you have collected in question 1-4.
What is your overall strategy for the facility?
What goals and objectives would you set for years 1, 2, and 3, respectively?
The facility has been purchased and the county expects results. Even though the wheels are in motion, you still need to conduct some research. What information would you need to collect for a feasibility study? What might you still need to know in order to make this facility profitable?
