Author: ezfacility

February 24, 2014 – A new indoor sports center opening next month in Harrisburg, South Dakota, will feature a 60,000-square-foot field of turf, two sand volleyball courts, and a 9,000-square-foot restaurant. The facility, Perfect Practice Sports Academy, will cater to children’s team sports. Owner Gary Sperber says that the surrounding community already has expressed a great deal of interest in the center.
“On the weekends, I bet we have 200 people here, looking at where we are and the progress, and the kids are getting excited, so it’s fun to see that,” he said. He also noted that hundreds of practice sessions have been scheduled through various organizations, and the facility is gearing up to schedule tournaments.
The addition of a restaurant is likely to attract even more customers. A venture among Perfect Practice, Sperber, and Mike O’Connor, the restaurant is called Game Changer. It will be designed by Tony Kellar, who owned a popular local restaurant that recently closed, and headed up by renowned chef Josh Kellar.
“Including a restaurant in a kids-oriented sports venue makes good business sense,” says Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager of EZFacility, a sports center management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “Kids will have access to what sounds like state-of-the-art practice and game space, and their parents will enjoy the convenience of an on-site top-quality eating joint where the whole family can relax after an intense practice or in between tournament sessions.”
The restaurant will seat almost 300 people and will include a three-season patio. The turf field will host T-ball, flag football, and soccer, and the facility also will serve baseball, softball, basketball, and volleyball teams.

February 21, 2014 – Construction for a sports-oriented hotel and 85,000-square-foot sports facility soon will break ground in Chesterfield, Missouri. Florida-based GoodSports Enterprises Global has signed a deal with local developer Dean Wolfe to build a 130-room hotel and adjacent sports center. The complex will sit on 10 acres of a $300 million, 132-acre development area.
The concept targets two types of travelers, while also serving the local community. On weekdays, the complex will cater to businesspeople, with the sports area serving local families and sports leagues. On weekends, the facility will host tournaments, with the hotel providing a venue for athletes and their coaches and families.
“Pairing a sports facility with a sports-themed hotel is a sensible approach for a new venture,” says Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports management software company in Woodbury, New York. “Given the steady rise of sports tourism, a complex that caters to corporate travelers, who will also presumably have use of the facility, and to local families and traveling leagues is bound to be profitable.”
The project, said GoodSports vice president of development, will be completed next winter. It is part of a bigger thrust to build 25 similar “villages” around the country in the next few years. The Chesterfield site is the third location, after Huber Heights, Ohio, and Greenwood, Indiana.

January 24, 2014 – The Breakers, one of the top-ranked hotels in Palm Beach, Florida, has received the local zoning commission’s approval to build a new fitness center. Construction depends on the Town Council, which has the final say; if the plan goes forward, the new center will triple the size of the hotel’s current exercise area. Construction would begin around June 1 and take three to four months to complete.
The hotel’s proposal calls for a 4,190-square-foot fitness center on what is now a rooftop terrace. The center will feature an ocean view and will presumably include a wider range of exercise equipment and machinery than is currently available. The present facility occupies a 1,400-square-foot space on the ground floor and, according to The Breakers’ attorney, James Crowley of the Gunster law firm, is outdated. Meanwhile the terrace area is underused.
However, there is a dispute over the hotel’s zoning rights, because the new fitness center would bring the total size of its beach club area to about 24,000 square feet. That would exceed a 20,000-square-foot limit set by the town in 1998, when it approved demolition of a hotel ballroom and previous beach club facilities. The hotel is seeking an amendment to the zoning rules, claiming it has not yet used 11,621 square feet of accessory space granted it for “future use assignment” during the 1998 ruling.
“Exercise is quite a different thing now from what it was in 1998,” notes Tracey Keats, President of EZFacility, a fitness facility management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “Travelers to highly-rated hotels expect a certain level of health club offerings, and it’s clear why The Breakers wants to be able to meet customers’ workout needs. The proposed facility update could attract new hotel guests and keep longtime ones coming back.”
One thing in the hotel’s favor is that the new facility would pose no traffic concerns. It will be open only to hotel guests and members, attorney Crowley explained, and there is ample parking.

January 24, 2014 – Fitness First, the UK-based gym chain with branches throughout Europe and Asia, announced a £225 million brand overhaul. With more than twenty years of business under its belt, the chain is looking to upgrade its look, clubs, and customer service. The first phase of rebranding has begun, with a £1.5 million marketing campaign designed to communicate the new corporate identity to customers.
Advertisements in the new campaign position the club as “rewriting the rules of fitness.” For example, part of the overhaul includes a shift in “fitness philosophy,” with the gym pushing a freestyle fitness regime based on natural movement. An ad titled “Rule #3” features the slogan “Focus on Movement, Not on Machines.” Other ads emphasize the chain’s new embracing of shorter classes (“More Burn, Less Time”), better customer service (“Go Further for Members”), and move toward outdoor training (“With You Outdoors, Not Just on Gym Floors”).
“Fitness First’s foray into a new corporate identity speaks to larger changes within the industry,” says Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager, of EZFacility, a gym management software developer in Woodbury, New York. “In general, focus is shifting to upgraded customer service; body weight training; shorter, more intense workout sessions; and innovations like outdoor training and greater incorporation of technology. In the light of these changes, many fitness facilities are contemplating identity updates. It will be interesting to watch Fitness First’s unfold.”
Additional initiatives for the brand overhaul include a goal for all 2,200 UK staff, “from the chief executive to receptionists,” to attain a certified fitness qualification by 2015; the establishment of a fitness test that measures gym members’ biological ages; and the creation of a fitness app that lets customers track their daily progress. In addition, the gym’s logo will change from blue to red. “…Red is the colour of energy and strength,” said marketing director David Jones. “It is bold and confident and a statement of intent, and it better represents the direction we are taking.”