Author: ezfacility

January 6, 2014 – Fitness industry veterans Jill Kinney and Bill McBride opened a new club at the start of 2014, rebranding the former Club One Petaluma (CA) as Active Sports Clubs. The facility will be managed by Clubsource Development Partners LLC, founded by Kinney in 2006; she serves as the company’s chairperson, and McBride is its president and CEO.
“I made the decision to launch this new company and brand because I felt it was the next step towards delivering my vision,” Kinney told the online magazine Club Industry. Her company, Clubsource, is a development business that specializes in private community centres that provide a for-profit, contemporary alternative to financially strapped neighborhoods. “I truly see our role as one of serving the community, not just the members,” she said. “To take that to the next level, it required that we disengage from the Club One brand.”
Part of the new club’s focus will be to introduce products and services to the Petaluma area, McBride explained. The club will feature a farm-to-table organic café, small group fitness programs, and a series of workshops centered around personal improvement. It also will include a weight loss program that pairs members with personal health coaches.
“Active Sports Clubs promises to establish a unique and interesting facility model,” says Eric Willin, COO, of EZFacility, a fitness center management software developer in Woodbury, NY. “It is entering into a competitive market, but with industry veterans at the helm, it looks poised to succeed.”
The company may add more clubs in 2014, but for now it will focus on its main site while exploring options for expanding.

January 2, 2014 – Plans for a new baseball and softball complex in Peoria, Illinois, have been under way for some time, but only recently was the partnership behind the complex revealed: Louisville Slugger, the 130-year-old maker of baseball and softball bats, has signed on with developers to complete the project.
Featuring 10 outdoor youth fields, plus a 125,000-square foot dome for year-round play, the new $33 million facility will be called the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex. City officials expect the complex to host between 11,000 and 12,000 games annually, approximately 10,000 games more than Peoria has been hosting for a number of years at an existing facility. Projected to have a core reach of about a 300-mile radius, the facility will also host teams from around the country, including college teams.
“When a high-profile sporting goods company decides to help fund a new, landmark venue, it’s a big deal,” says Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports facility software management developer in Woodbury, New York. “A deal like this one stands to benefit the company, the complex, the surrounding community, and the athletes who use the facility alike.”
Louisville Slugger products will be sold at the venue, and the atmosphere will be designed to mirror a big-league experience, with walk-out-style dugouts, bullpens, lights, electronic scoreboards, and public address systems. Over a quarter million people are expected to visit annually.

December 20, 2013 – Mossa, the Marietta, GA-based company previously known as Body Training Systems, has partnered with Xbox to create an online fitness service that could eventually lead consumers to the gym and that will promote participating health clubs. Through the partnership, Mossa has launched Xbox Fitness, a library of workout videos from top trainers and brands, including Jillian Michaels and Tracy Anderson, as well as Beachbody’s P90X and Insanity. The videos teach home users workouts they can do at their own pace and then guide them into health clubs by offering a free pass to visit Mossa group fitness classes.
“With this unique Xbox Fitness partnership and the growing popularity of our group fitness programs worldwide, we’re entering a very exciting phase of our business,” said Mossa president Terry Browning.
Emily Wilensky, Marketing Manager of EZFacility, a fitness facility management software provider in Woodbury, New York, said the partnership is an exciting development. “We’re at the dawn of an age in which home workouts are easily accessible, personal devices provide data feedback, and trainers work with their clients over Skype,” she said. “Health clubs and other fitness facilities have to find ways to integrate these new technologies. A home workout video library that encourages gym attendance is a huge plus.”
Released in November, Xbox One, the platform that allows users to access Xbox Fitness, features precision Kinect technology, which gives users immediate feedback on form, power, and heart rate. Programs currently offered include Mossa Core Workout, Mossa Fight Workout, Mossa Groove Workout, and Mossa Power Workout.
Over the next four years, participating clubs that agree to honor a free pass given to Xbox Fitness users will be promoted through Xbox One.

December 12, 2013 – Hope College, in Holland, MI, received the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA)’s Outdoor Tennis Court of the Year Award in December. The college’s Vande Poel-Heeringa Stadium Courts were selected out of 14 tennis facilities in the United States that earlier this year were recognized by ASBA for their excellence in design, construction, and renovation.
Jorge Capestany, a manager of Hope College’s tennis center, said the courts, which opened in 2012, have had a noticeable impact on the college. “The state-of-the-art Vande-Poel Heeringa Stadium Courts have already made a difference in recruiting, lesson programs, and enjoyment for the Hope tennis community,” he said.
Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a sports facility management software developer in Woodbury, NY, noted the significance of the award. “To be named the top tennis court facility in the country, out of thousands of facilities, is quite an honor,” he said. “The positive effects the facility has had on the college as a whole goes to show how important a solidly engineered sports center can be to local communities.”
Featuring 12 full-sized courts, and designed for competition, instruction, and casual play, the center boasts elevated seating for spectators. Earlier this year, it was named one of the top 20 tennis facilities in the country by the United States Tennis Association. It was built by local firm GMB Architects and Engineers, in consultation with Alex Levitsky of Global Sports and Tennis Design Group in Fair Haven, NJ.