As one final project before I retired from the city of Elko New Market, Minn., I was asked to scan the nation for potential revenue sources for evaluation, and make recommendations to diversify our current revenue base for future park projects.
Since 2020, state parks have seen massive upticks in visitors. The pandemic forced people to self-reflect and find new ways and places to interact.
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Aquatics
Envision 112 people in a pool jumping and shooting baskets, pulling aqua dumbbells through the water and thrusting them into the air, while doing kicking exercises underwater. They smile, laugh, and sing along with the music as energetic instructors run them through a three-hour event.
Kinsmen Park Splash Pad is a unique, completely custom manufactured splash pad located within Queen Elizabeth Park, in the heart of the Edmonton’s River Valley, on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River. This highly visual waterpark is extremely colorful, with spray features uniquely designed and custom manufactured to provide a nature and wildlife theme, reflecting the natural beauty surrounding the park.
It goes without saying that safety, maintenance, and saving money are important at park facilities. But think about how these three concepts connect for a water park to thrive.
Columns
I had been at my previous parks and rec position for more than a decade when I landed a great job in central Ohio for a Gold Medal-winning agency, with more responsibility and many more employees to lead. It was tough saying goodbye.
When I run into people from my youth-sports days, they tell me what a great coach my dad was and how they still remember some of the ways he motivated them to work harder and be better.
Dale rolled over in bed and glanced at the clock. It read 6:02 a.m. It would be another hour before sunrise.
My memories of being a volunteer coach of my kids’ teams rarely involve anything to do with the sport I was coaching. Sure, I remember some of the conversations with players after a particularly fun game, certain kids making great plays, and those times when one of my lesser-skilled players rose to the occasion and did something in a game that he had struggled with throughout the season.
Long before business meetings included projections and metrics, the people sitting around a table talked about how things were going. They asked about the families and inquired about the “work family”—the gang that worked together all day.
When I was younger, I couldn’t wait for the next season to start, and it didn’t matter for what sport. Baseball was my first choice, but basketball, football, soccer, and wrestling were all big in my house.
I do some consulting work regarding the completion and structure of bid documents and contracts. Unlike my previous career in government work, these private-sector clients can make decisions based on emotion and preference.
On an overcast, late April day, a young boy runs along Georgia Avenue—a busy thoroughfare in Montgomery County, Md.,—barely avoiding being hit by passing vehicles. The child is spotted by Sgt. Trevin Sherard, a Montgomery Parks Police officer, who happens to be driving past the scene.
On a recent drive to work, I decided to write a column about the importance of coaches and administrators knowing about heat illness and how to help prevent it in youth sports. Living in South Florida, I always found the subject intriguing.
I recently saw a truck commercial where the driver took his hands off the wheel and began to play patty-cake by himself. As the music swelled with the beat, he sat back comfortably, presumably to await the oncoming 18-wheeler being driven by a guy who was probably busy trying to reset his cell phone clock.
Parks
As one final project before I retired from the city of Elko New Market, Minn., I was asked to scan the nation for potential revenue sources for evaluation, and make recommendations to diversify our current revenue base for future park projects.
It takes a lot of effort and planning to stand out in today’s world full of people constantly being treated as potential customers. Studies show the average person is exposed to roughly 4,000 marketing messages every day, and the number is growing.
Since 2020, state parks have seen massive upticks in visitors. The pandemic forced people to self-reflect and find new ways and places to interact.
Programming
Public skateparks have come a long way in the last 25 years; they are no longer single- or even double-use facilities. Chances are your park is being used by skateboarders, BMX riders, scooters, rollerbladers, roller skaters, and even wheelchairs.
In 1983, members of a local disability community helped bring a Wheelchair Accessible Heart Trail to John Prince Park, located in Lake Worth, Fla.
The daily mission of park and recreation professionals is to enhance the quality of life for residents through a variety of programs, services, and facilities. However, some professionals may not fully recognize their power to create true social change for a population that is often forgotten about.
Rec Facilities
While the sport of curling rewards great skill and precision, Chaska, Minn., wanted to reward the community with a great place to play, practice, compete, and celebrate. With a design led by 292 Design Group, now JLG Architects, the Chaska Curling & Event Center opened its doors in the winter of 2015, alongside a vibrant redevelopment of Firemen’s Park in downtown Chaska.
Envisioning the possibilities of a new community center or sports facility is exciting, but when the costs of a project add up, the last thing anyone wants to see is a surprise. To bypass aggressive finger-pointing, the best advice is to avoid any comparison with similar facilities and to invest in information-gathering that will help determine the true cost of a project.
The heart and soul of any fitness center is its group-exercise program. Nearly 40 percent of members will participate in these classes at some point, and the American College of Sports Medicine designated group fitness within the top-three trends of 2020 (Thompson, 2019).
Sports Fields
The only thing more prevalent than pickleball these days is this question: “Should we line our tennis courts for pickleball, too, or just have separate pickleball courts?”
Many parks, recreation, and athletic facilities serve as community hubs where residents gather to compete, play, socialize, and enjoy the outdoors. These prized community assets can play an even bigger role by incorporating infrastructure to manage stormwater, mitigate flooding, and achieve water-quality goals.
Park planning has become increasingly data-driven in recent years. For instance, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) collects and analyzes a high volume and variety of data to prepare major plans and studies, with key examples including the 2016 Parks Needs Assessment (PNA), Community Parks and Recreation Plans (CPRP) for the most park-poor communities, and the 2022 Parks Needs Assessment Plus (PNA+).
One of the great advantages of sports is they bring people together. Let’s face it—it’s just plain fun to catch up with friends, whether watching kids in Little League or finishing a great game of pickleball or tennis and wanting to unwind and talk.
The benefits of turf alternatives have been debated for years. Members of city councils, the parks commission, or perhaps even community members have touted the benefits.
So, you have built a premier sports complex. How do you make it pay? By keeping it busy every day.
There’s no end to the number of sports that have been brought to the USA through immigration, such as soccer, field hockey, and rugby. And that’s not even taking into consideration other popular fixtures on the competition calendar like wrestling and track and field.
In Oxford, Ohio, this quote fits well for a field-renovation project that’s been ongoing for nearly half a decade and has finally wrapped up. Divvying up one adult softball field into three youth baseball and softball diamonds is almost as exciting as a triple play in youth baseball.
It’s no secret that northern climates impose challenges to practice and game time for outdoor sports like soccer, football, and baseball. While southern states enjoy the outdoors, their northern neighbors endure drastic conditions, from blizzards and ice to rain, winds, and floods—often cutting several weeks from the season and limiting off-season practices.
On a Saturday morning at Miracle Field in Wichita, Kan., one will find a group of special athletes participating in America’s pastime—baseball. While some use wheelchairs or walkers, others are blind or have intellectual disabilities—all are ready to have a swing of the bat, round the bases, and catch a ball.
News
For the second consecutive year, JLG Architects has been named the Official Architect of Hockey Day Minnesota. The 2024 outdoor hockey celebration is scheduled for January 25-27 in Warroad, MN – Hockeytown USA®.
SYNLawn San Diego is proud to announce it was selected as a winner of one of the 2023 Synthetic Turf Council (STC) Awards. The honorees were revealed during an awards ceremony at the STC’s annual conference and 20th anniversary celebration in New Orleans.
The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), the national organization for builders, designers and suppliers of materials for athletic facilities, has announced its plans to participate in the inaugural RacquetX Conference, to be held in Miami, Florida, concurrent with the Miami Open.
Matrix Fitness, the world’s fastest-growing commercial fitness brand, furthers their partnership with Ecofit Networks with the announcement of their new asset management platform, Facility 360 Powered by Ecofit launching in October 2023.
American Trails is pleased to partner with the U.S. Forest Service in continuing the Legacy Trails Grant Program. This program is funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and supports partner trail projects that further the Legacy Roads and Trails criteria on National Forest System trails throughout the nine Forest Service Regions.
The City of Leesville, Louisiana recently held a Grand Opening (September 23rd) for an 18-hole “Leesville Mini Golf” municipal course that was designed and constructed by Adventure Golf & Sports using their eco-friendly Modular Advantage® System.
Ex-Cell Kaiser is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Since 1933, Ex-Cell Kaiser has been a family-owned manufacturing business, and they continue as a Woman-Owned Business led by Janet Kaiser, a third-generation member of the Kaiser family’s legacy.
In honor of the 30th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD) on Saturday, September 23, entry fees will be waived at national parks and other federal public lands, including national monuments, forests, recreation areas, seashores, wildlife refuges, historical sites, battlefields, and grasslands.
The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), the national organization for builders, designers and suppliers of materials for athletic facilities, has unveiled its latest educational industry initiative, the 2024 ASBA Academy.
Sports Field Management Association (SFMA) – the non-profit, professional association for men and women who manage sports fields worldwide – announces the students of the Atlee High School Turf Science Program in Mechanicsville, Virginia have won the association’s "Stars and Stripes" contest for the second straight year.
Buyer's Guide
AGS offers the widest line of miniature golf products and services in the world. We specialize in the design, build and installation of…
ActionFit by UltraSite, encourages healthy, active outdoor exercise while addressing the critical five elements of fitness: Aerobic, Muscle Strength, Balance, Flexibility and Core. ActionFit emulates equipment found in gyms but is built to last outdoors. Contact us TODAY to learn more!
Build a community destination that offers dogs and their owners a secure environment to play! Based on popular agility obstacles, BarkPark equipment is designed for dogs of all sizes, abilities and confidence levels. It’s proprietary CanineCoat™ provides superior slip-resistant traction, UV protection and resistance to vandalism and urine. Contact us TODAY to learn more!
Mamba GaGa Ball Pits provide commercial grade, easily portable, indoor/outdoor fun. Strong rebounding nets provide unobstructed line-of-sight. The sturdy 25 lb. wall panels can be assembled in pit sizes from 15’ to 25’ to allow for different ages and number of players. One adult can easily assemble a Mamba GaGa pit in under 5 minutes, and it quickly stores in a 6’ x 3’ space.
Organizations throughout the country are looking for ways to reduce their emissions, and what better way to start than with their tractor equipment? For over 100 years, tractors have remained largely unchanged.
Sportsman software is a cloud-based Recreation & Facility Management Solution built to handle all of your Parks and Recreation needs. Developed with over 25 years of park and recreation client feedback, we offer thousands of features that easily tailor to your organization.
Adaptive Engineering Inc. is a leading manufacturer of mobile wheelchair lifts for providing temporary access to outdoor and indoor sites, homes, schools, colleges, churches, stages, historic sites, and other locations.
KirbyBuilt’s Paws ‘n Play Dog Park products were developed with expert advice from industry professionals. Made from low maintenance, long-lasting 100% recycled plastic, our doggy playset is the first of its kind and great for the environment. Includes exciting options for climbing, jumping, crawling, training and grooming. Great indoors and out. A perfect addition to any dog park, resort or doggy daycare.
Triax Impact Systems are the Gold Standard for testing playground surfaces to ASTM F3313/F1292 for over 30 years. Playground Owner/Operators and CPSIs choose the TriaxTouch from Alpha-Automation, Inc. for this important part of their inspections.
Since 1837, John Deere Company has seen a great many changes in its business, its products, its services. Change always comes with opportunity…
Most Popular
It takes a lot of effort and planning to stand out in today’s world full of people constantly being treated as potential customers. Studies show the average person is exposed to roughly 4,000 marketing messages every day, and the number is growing.
In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, technology holds a paramount position in the functioning of local governments, influencing every facet of their operations. From streamlining administrative tasks to enhancing civic engagement, technology assists in modernizing and serving communities more efficiently.
While the sport of curling rewards great skill and precision, Chaska, Minn., wanted to reward the community with a great place to play, practice, compete, and celebrate. With a design led by 292 Design Group, now JLG Architects, the Chaska Curling & Event Center opened its doors in the winter of 2015, alongside a vibrant redevelopment of Firemen’s Park in downtown Chaska.
Editor's Picks
No matter the size of a park agency, all of them struggle with resource needs. However, what some people often don’t recognize is that the most valuable resource of any organization is its employees.
I’ve never heard an effective leader say that leadership is easy—it’s not. In fact, it can be incredibly difficult at times
With many changes in programming, ADA-access, and opportunities to inclusively serve all members of a diverse community, a paradigm shift has occurred, and it’s time that it is recognized in the way parks are designed.
Change management is crucial for leaders in any field. Whether it’s adopting innovative technology, navigating employee turnover, or launching new programs, successful leaders are often those who handle curveballs with ease and expertly guide their teams through unfamiliar territory.