Author: ezfacility

New Jersey Offers Giant Tax Credit to 76ers to Build Practice Space in Camden

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The State of New Jersey has awarded the Philadelphia 76ers $82 million in tax credits over 10 years to build a practice facility in Camden, New Jersey. The deal has been called one of the most generous in state history.
In a dollar-for-dollar exchange, the Sixers are allowed to recoup their costs, up to $82 million, for construction of a cutting-edge facility that will serve as team headquarters. Slated to occupy 120,000 square feet on Camden’s waterfront, the facility will provide practice space and equipment to the Sixers, and will include two basketball courts, a fitness training and rehabilitation space, player and coaching staff locker rooms, an audio-video review room, broadcast media facilities, a player lounge, support facilities, and office space. Eventually athletic camps for children and other, similar programming may be offered.
“The scope of this project bodes well for both parties,” said Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports facility management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “The team will benefit from having a state-of-the-art space in which to train and develop as athletes. And Camden will benefit from an influx of new jobs and the presence of a facility that will draw attention and business to a depressed area.”
Officials estimate that the new facility will create 250 new jobs and hope it lures additional developers to the area. A tax revenue-strapped city, Camden could net $76.6 million over 35 years, the state predicts. According to the terms of the deal, made possible by the Economic Opportunity Act of 2013, the Sixers can use or sell the tax credits from the state as long as they employ 250 people in Camden and stay in the city for 15 years.
Naysayers have questioned how much the facility’s construction will benefit residents and whether a state struggling with budget problems should be offering large-scale tax credits that, in effect, give money away. But supporters are adamant about the facility’s potential to improve the Camden area. “It’s a catalyst for change,” said Camden’s mayor, Dana L. Redd. “I am elated for my city.”

Towson University Sports Center To Get $34 Million, 90,000-Square-Foot Addition

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Towson University, in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland, recently announced a $34 million expansion of its recreation center.
The expansion will add 90,000 square feet to the center, known as Burdick Hall. It will include two multipurpose athletic courts, group exercise studios, and a three-lane indoor running track. The courts will be used for indoor soccer and lacrosse, and the studios will serve cycling classes, martial arts, and personal training. As it exists now, Burdick Hall contains a swimming pool, basketball courts, and a 33-foot indoor climbing wall.
“It’s always gratifying to see a university commit to improving its athletic facilities,” said Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports facility management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “Doing so sends a message to students, faculty, staff, and alumni that sports and fitness are of primary importance, and it gives members of the school’s community an opportunity to work out or compete to the limits of their abilities. This addition is sure to enhance Townson’s athletics a great deal.”
Towson University fields 19 NCAA Division I varsity teams that compete in the Colonial Athletic Association. In 2013, it constructed a 5,200-seat, state-of-the-art sports arena, which hosts the school’s basketball, gymnastics, and volleyball team. The university also boasts the Baltimore metro area’s third-largest outdoor stadium and a freestanding baseball park.

Colorado Town May Enter Public-Private Partnership for Synthetic Snow Facility

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The town of Castle Rock, Colorado, recently signed a letter of intent to enter into a public-private partnership with Weston Solutions, Inc., for the creation of Castle Rock Year-Round Snow Sports Center, a $5.5 million synthetic snow facility.
If constructed, the facility would feature a 107,000-square foot skiing surface, a bunny slope, a tubing run, a downhill mountain bike course, a lodge with restaurant and bar, and a dedicated parking center. The snow-like, synthetic material SnowFlex, tailored to suit Colorado’s climate, would cover the slopes.
Shawn Temple, Development Director of Weston Solutions, said in a statement, “This public-private partnership will serve as a sustainable economic driver for the local community while increasing the town’s tax base and providing a legacy of smart planning that will serve the needs of the community for generations to come.”
There has been some question about the viability of a synthetic snow facility in a state known for its skiing. “If the facility proposed by Weston Solutions is approved by the town, it’ll be interesting to monitor how it does in an area saturated with real snow sports activities,” said Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports facility management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “Chances are it would thrive. Year-round skiing would introduce new people to the sport and provide daily training, better preparing consumers for actual snow. And consumers wouldn’t have to drive hours outside of Denver for skiing — it would be available 30 to 45 minutes from the city center. That will be a draw.”
The town’s letter of intent allows Weston Solutions to research the feasibility of building the facility. Town council members will review the company’s proposals every six months for up to two years; if a plan for financing the project looks viable, the council will vote on it.

The Right Hire For Your Gym

The Right Hire For Your Gym

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If you’re a fan of reality television, or even if you’re not, you have probably heard about the recent episode of Inside Job that featured New York’s David Barton Gym. Inside Job’s premise is that a company seeking to fill a position agrees to let the show’s producers select three candidates. Those candidates live together for a week and undertake challenges that supposedly reveal their worthiness for the job. A fourth person also lives in the house, someone already employed by the company who presents himself or herself as another candidate for the position. That person is the insider, reporting back to the CEO about the candidates and choosing one of them to recommend.
Well, that’s one way to hire an employee. For those of us who don’t have the opportunity to get to know job candidates quite so intimately before we hire them, we need other approaches. Since so many staff positions at a fitness center or sports facility involve direct interaction with members and clients, it’s crucial to hire carefully. Moreover, hiring is an expensive process; you want to get a good return on your investment.
What can you do to ensure you’re hiring well? To begin with, craft an excellent, clear, and precise job description. The more specific your description, and the more explicitly you define what you’re looking for, the better your chances of finding appropriate candidates. If you need a marketing person with social media experience, don’t just put, “Five years marketing experience”. It’s better to write, “Experienced marketing professional with social media expertise.” Also, be sure to stick in a few words that convey the sort of work ethic you’re looking for. If you want to scare off potential loafers, then change that wording to “Dedicated, experienced marketing professional with social media experience, a can-do attitude, and the willingness to stick it out when things get tough.”
Once you’ve collected your applications and narrowed the pool down to a handful of candidates, line up your interviews. Let me stress on the word “handful”: At this point, you don’t want to bring in too many people. Start with your top three or four choices; if you can’t find what you’re looking for among them, you can always call in others.
No doubt you’ve conducted interviews before, so you know the drill. Still, there’s one thing that’s easy to forget: Interviews are not effective if you’re focusing only on the science behind them — the questions you should and shouldn’t ask, how you read a résumé, what answers a candidate gives to your questions. More effective is to focus on the art of interviewing. This means paying attention to how a candidate answers your questions more than what they say. Did you get an answer — but not to the question you asked? Were there inconsistencies in the candidate’s replies? What was the candidate’s body language saying, what were the unconscious reactions and gestures? These will help you better understand who the person is (rather than just what he or she has done).
Once you make an offer, be prepared to negotiate. Any candidate worth hiring is probably going to come to you with a counter-offer. Remain open to the offer. Often, it reflects what the potential employee truly thinks he or she is worth. You might not be able to meet the counter-offer, but you might gain some clues about what alternative offers the candidate might be willing to accept. If you really want the person, you’ll have to find a way to make him or her happy.
Which brings me to my final point: Keep your employees happy. The gym and sports industries by nature face high turnover (how about a reality TV show that addresses that fact?). When you’ve invested the time, money, and energy to hire the right candidate, you want to do everything you can to make sure he or she stays. Create an open, warm workplace that makes relationship-building a priority. Recognize and reward good work. Consider perks such as tuition reimbursement, free lunches, and employee-of-the-month programs. The investment in human capital is worth it.

Acquisition of Two New Clubs Indicates Growth for California Family Fitness

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California Family Fitness, Orangevale, CA, acquired two new clubs this month. The company took over Alhambra Athletic Club and Riverside Athletic Club, in Sacramento, CA, renaming them California Family Fitness Midtown Club and California Family Fitness Greenhaven Club, respectively.
The club also announced the opening of a new 32,000-square-foot downtown Sacramento club, bringing its total number of clubs to 18.
“It’s exciting to see a small club growing so rapidly,” said NAME TK, TITLE TK, of EZFacility, a health club management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “Such expansion shows that there’s room for development in the industry, and that, even in a tight economy, facilities can flourish.”
Randy Karr, president of California Family Fitness, said in a statement, “California Family Fitness is excited to expand our footprint and serve a new member base in the heart of Sacramento. We are committed to providing our members with state-of-the-art equipment, popular programs, and activities in a convenient, fun, and friendly environment.”
Last year, the company’s founders, Larry Gury and Russ Kuhn, sold almost $100 million worth of their real estate portfolio, aiming to use the money from the sale to build more clubs.

Five Steps to Safeguard Your Sports Facility Against Liability

5 Steps to Safeguard Your Sports Facility Against Liability

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Ever had an athlete twist an ankle on your field, or worse: break a leg,dislocate a shoulder, or sustain a head injury? Ever had someone run into a brick wall? I’m serious here — at one football field, a brick wall was placed just beyond the end zone, and a player ran full speed into it. Be glad you weren’t the owner of that field when the question of liability arose — because, when you run a sports facility with a field, the question of liability always arises. You have to be vigilant about it, and take constant measures to both protect players from injury and yourself from litigation. What can you do?

1) Start with common sense. There are no published industrywide standards for all aspects of sports fields, but there are generally accepted expectations. Is your playing field level? Is it free of debris, holes, depressions, and other potential safety hazards, such as loose seams and worn patches? Is there a risk of rocks rising to the surface, and is the field playable when wet? Your field maintenance efforts should focus first on safety, while your common sense should guide you in terms of what is safe and what isn’t.

2) Next, take a look at your field as if you’ve never seen it before. If there are liability issues, you’ve probably become so accustomed to seeing them that you don’t really notice them anymore. Take the brick wall, for instance: Any field manager who has stopped to think about it would have realized the danger. However, it’s easy to not think about things when you’ve got a routine and a checklist of tasks to accomplish. Step onto your field and look around. Are there poorly placed walls? Are there ridges or lips on the field?

If it’s an expanded field, such as a soccer field, is there sufficient space for athletes to slide without hitting fences? Is there room to comply with American Disability Act requirements? See everything as if it is for the first time and make assessments. If you’re too busy to consider all of the potential problems, or are just too familiar with your field to be able to see it with a fresh eye, don’t hesitate to have an outside firm audit safety issues. If you don’t have the budget for an outside inspection, consider asking a fellow sports field manager to inspect your facility in exchange for you to inspect theirs.

3) Do your paperwork. Make sure you have contracts, insurance documents, and anything else you might need in place, in order to manage any financial and legal liability. If anything unfortunate ever does occur, you’ll need to have the paperwork ready on hand.

4) Don’t delay. When you identify a potential problem, fix it right away. No, scratch that: First document it by noting the problem, how and when it was discovered, and what the strategy for resolution is. Then go ahead and fix it.

5) Finally, after an issue has been discovered, documented, and dealt with, schedule regular re-inspection times (document your re-inspections!). Then take the time to analyze: Why did the problem occur in the first place? Could it lead to other problems? Are there ways to avoid such problems in the future? Remember, the best way to reduce risk is through prevention. This way, any time and resources you invest into large-scale improvements now will pay off for you down the road.

Addition of View Details Option on E-mail Campaign History Page and More!

Addition of View Details Option on E-mail Campaign History Page and More!

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Our Development Team is constantly working to improve your user experience with EZFacility. Between major updates, we release small but important Features and Fixes that address issues and add useful new options/tools to better help you manage your business. These changes are documented in our Release Notes, found in our Support Center under the “Product News & Updates” section.

In a world full of numbers it is easy to get lost in them. From what’s in your bank account to the number of clients that pass through your facility each day. Our last release featured the introduction of the Email Campaign History page, which, not only gives you the ability to see previously sent emails, but also allows you to report on their success or failures using numbers. With that in mind EZFacility’s Development Team has taken that concept one step further with the release of a “View Details” section of the Email Campaign History Page and more!

View Details- Email Campaign History

In the Email Campaign History section of your EZFacility account you will notice our newest feature – View Details. Our goal for adding the View Details section was to associate a name and purpose with email campaign results. This allows you to better understand and analyze the reach and depth of your campaign efforts.

 

Clicking into View Details will automatically display campaign result totals for a variety of industry standard email event types. These results can be broken down to include the email address of the recipient and an event time stamp that allows you to view statistics as they happen. You can also filter through campaign information using criteria such as email address and event type.

 

Email Results Recorded:

  • Delivered: Message has been successfully delivered to the receiving server.
  • Open: Recipient has opened the HTML message.
  • Click: Recipient clicked on a link within the message.
  • Bounce: Receiving server could not or would not accept message.
  • Dropped: Recipients IP address has been added to the blacklist.
  • Spam Report: Recipient marked message as spam.

Display Available Openings Remaining on an Online Registration Form

In an effort to make Online Registrations as efficient as possible, our latest release includes the ability to display the remaining openings available on an Online Registration Form. When your clients first view this page they will be met with the available openings remaining totals for creating new subgroups and individual registrations. For those clients who will be looking to register for a sub group, the sub-group openings will be displayed when viewing the list of subgroups.

 

Note: The number of available openings remaining is based on the “Max. Individuals” and “Max. Subgroups” set in the group details.

Update to Our SPAM and Security Settings

With our latest release we have made an update to our SPAM and security settings. Now, when sending an email blast, the ‘From’ field will be changed from your facility or personal email address to [email protected], while still displaying the name of your facility at the top. Be assured however, that when a client replies to a sent email, it will be received by the user that sent the email blast and not EZFacility. This change is for security reasons, and is being implemented across the industry for SPAM prevention. Email providers such as Yahoo and AOL already require this change and are beginning to block emails that are sent ‘on behalf of’ another email address.

 

And More!

In addition to these changes, there were many additional updates included in this release. For more details, please visit out Release Notes page.

Establishing a YouTube Presence

Establishing a YouTube Presence

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YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world. The first is Google. When you consider the facts that (1) Google owns YouTube, (2) Google’s search engine algorithm weighs heavily the presence of videos on a website (in plain English: if you’ve got videos, your site will appear higher up in Google’s search results), and (3) videos are much more likely to go viral than text-only online content, the conclusion you should draw is obvious: Your facility can benefit from having a presence on YouTube.
But where to begin? Or, if you already have a selection of videos on YouTube, how to optimise? Don’t worry. There are some simple steps you can take to establish yourself in the YouTube universe.
First, if you haven’t already, create a YouTube channel for your facility. This takes seconds to do and allows you to build up a mass of users who subscribe to your account; it also lets you send emails to subscribers. Be sure to upload the videos you create to your channel.
Then consider the production value that’s right for you. Your videos do not have to be perfectly polished works of art; in fact, anything too polished could be off-putting. You want to keep them authentic, comfortable, and welcoming. You also want them to be cost-efficient. This means investing just enough resources to get your point across; you might be able to make a perfectly fine video with just a smartphone attached to a tripod accessory (just make sure you’re paying close attention to sound quality; if you invest in any sort of high-tech equipment, let it be a great microphone).
That said, keep in mind that viewers won’t stick around for long if a video is too low in quality. And you want them to stick around, because the whole point is to give them a direction to take. By the end of your video, you should tell viewers to contact you, stop by, or check out your social media channels. Including a call to action — and making the video compelling enough so that viewers stay long enough to get the call to action — is crucial.
As far as other content goes, the sky — and your imagination — is the limit. Videos featuring quick, helpful routines created by your trainers are an obvious choice, and are sure to be a big hit. But don’t overlook other possibilities: videos of new members, perhaps explaining why they chose to join your facility; videos of staff discussing their favorite parts of their jobs; videos of events you’ve hosted or sponsored, especially if they’re events that show your dedication to your surrounding community. Also, videos of CEOs, managers, or owners offering personal, sincere stories about how they’ve overcome hardship or what motivates them or why they do what they do can be extremely compelling. Don’t forget that humor always attracts attention. As do children!
Other things to keep in mind: You want to be sure to help Google — and viewers — connect your YouTube video with your other online content. That means, in the description of your video, include a link to your website. The flip side of that is connecting your clientele (and potential clientele) with your videos: Be sure to tweet the videos, share them on Facebook and Google+, promote them on Instagram — make them an integrated part of your social media strategy.
As part of that strategy, you should also take time to invest in the YouTube community. Become an integral part of that community by commenting on other videos within your fields of interest. Add links on your website to videos you find interesting. If other YouTube users perceive your facility as a supportive, community-minded entity, they’ll support you, and then the real magic of YouTube will kick in, with word about your facility spreading at lightning speed.
Of course, as with all of your marketing efforts, you’ll want to maintain brand recognition. Include your logo, use fonts and colours associated with your brand, establish a consistent voice and personality, and ensure that the tone conveyed in the video matches the tone you have established elsewhere. The pay-off — a higher profile on Google and a reputation as a video provider — will be huge!

Coney Island Gets Massive New Sports Facility

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MatchPoint NYC, a new luxury sports complex, recently opened on New York City’s historic Coney Island. Now, in addition to roller coasters, ferris wheels, carnival games, and fried dough, the island offers visitors and locals alike the chance to get fit at an all-ages sports facility.
The complex comprises 120,000 square feet. Its central feature is a tennis arena with nine courts, the largest indoor tennis center in Brooklyn. Established players have been recruited to lead children’s and adults’ tennis classes, including Numrud Nino Muhatasov, who coached for the Women’s Tennis Association, and Australian Open doubles champions Alyona and Katerina Bondarenko.
A swimming program featuring a junior Olympic-sized pool and headed by 1988 Olympic Bronze medalist Konstantin Petrov is anticipated to attract attention, as is the complex’s fitness center, which offers cycling, cardio classes, yoga, Pilates, gymnastics, free weights, machines, and more.
“More and more, large-scale facilities are finding homes in areas that are already established as lively centres for entertainment, places where there’s a sense of community and fun,” said Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports facility management softare developer in Woodbury, New York. “Coney Island seems like a natural spot for such a facility.”
Construction on the three-acre facility began in June of last year. Owner Dimitry Druzhinsky and health club director Jason Daniels have said that their selling point will be an innovative program design matched with impeccable customer service.

Free Classes

Free Classes

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If you’re a sports facility with tennis courts, you’ll want to pay attention to this. And if you’re any other kind of sports facility, you’ll also want to pay attention. Actually, everyone listen up — this is an idea that health clubs and fitness centres can capitalize on too.
In May, as part of a promotional effort started jointly by the Tennis Industry Association, the Professional Tennis Registry, and the United States Professional Tennis Association’s Tennis Across America program, sports facilities and certified teaching pros around the country will take part in Try Tennis — a program to offer free tennis lessons. Any facility with tennis courts can sign up here to participate; tennis-playing aspirants can find participating facilities on the same website. The possible result for you? Free advertising and perhaps new long-term members.
The sponsoring associations based their decision to launch Try Tennis on industry research showing that 65 percent of players who begin tennis in an introductory program continue with the sport. Offering free classes or lessons is a way of getting potential players hooked.
You can see why I wanted you all to listen up — this is a widely adaptable idea. If you’re a facility with a focus on baseball, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, hockey — any sport — you can work on getting a Try [Your Sport] promotion going industry wide. If you’re a gym, you can think about a Try a Trainer month, or a Try Zumba (or other workout class) month. Pushing a promotion on a huge scale, like the tennis initiative, might feel beyond your scope; if that’s the case, try it with a few other facilities in your network or your region, or just launch a similar program in your facility alone. However you’re able to manage it, a full month of free lessons is likely to draw potential new members, a good number of whom will stay on after the promotion ends.
The idea can be applied in all types of facilities and can be carried out in a number of ways. You could do as the tennis folks are doing and make it a month-long promotion. If you’re a facility with fewer resources, make it a week’s event, or even just a single day’s. Of course, however you end up designing it, you’ll want to spread the word widely. If you’re doing it in conjunction with other facilities, consider setting up a website like the Try Tennis one. If you’re going solo, give it a big headline on your own website’s landing page, and shout about it on your social media channels. Ask your current members to let others know; ask them to bring their friends.
Equally important: Keep track of the numbers. Make sure you count the people who take part (and get their names and contact info for follow-up). Then count the number of people who sign up for long-term instruction or general membership. You’ll want to know whether the effort pays off for you. In your niche, is it also the case that 65 percent who begin playing continue on? Maybe not, but either way, you want to have the data available. Then, if it works, do it every year!