Source: The Sports Facility Advisory
(Clearwater, FL) April 28, 2014—Despite reports of the economic recovery gaining speed after its collapse in 2009, many Americans are left behind—almost five years after the end of the Great Recession, 3.8 million Americans have been out of work for at least six months, and their prospects of finding a job remain dim (1). But the overwhelming need for American employment has been tempered by the unprecedented growth of sports tourism and the privatization of youth sports, leading to the development of new sports recreation facilities throughout the country – some of which opened at the height of the Great Recession and have been influential in putting Americans back to work. Dev Pathik, CEO of The Sports Facilities Advisory (http://www.sportadvisory.com/home.html) (SFA), says that the sports tourism surge, coupled with the privatization of sports as governments defund sports, has spurred a 25% increase in the number of clients seeking SFA’s help in planning, funding, and managing new complexes. SFA and its clients’ associated sports centers will hire hundreds of employees in 2014.
Source: The Sports Facility Advisory
(Clearwater, FL) April 28, 2014—Despite reports of the economic recovery gaining speed after its collapse in 2009, many Americans are left behind—almost five years after the end of the Great Recession, 3.8 million Americans have been out of work for at least six months, and their prospects of finding a job remain dim (1). But the overwhelming need for American employment has been tempered by the unprecedented growth of sports tourism and the privatization of youth sports, leading to the development of new sports recreation facilities throughout the country – some of which opened at the height of the Great Recession and have been influential in putting Americans back to work. Dev Pathik, CEO of The Sports Facilities Advisory (http://www.sportadvisory.com/home.html) (SFA), says that the sports tourism surge, coupled with the privatization of sports as governments defund sports, has spurred a 25% increase in the number of clients seeking SFA’s help in planning, funding, and managing new complexes. SFA and its clients’ associated sports centers will hire hundreds of employees in 2014.
According to Pathik, the growth of sports tourism has led communities to build sports tournament centers in the hopes of luring competitions that fill hotel rooms. Private developers are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into indoor and outdoor sports recreation centers, demonstrating a massive shift in the youth sports industry and infrastructure—a fact which Pathik attributes to governments focusing on revenue generation as private citizens take over the training and team play that was once assumed to be handled through school systems.
•In 2011, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the Harrisburg/Hershey region in Pennsylvania saw $2.18 billion in visitor spending, largely attributed to regional youth sporting events. (2)
•Over a five-day period in DuPage County in Illinois, basketball players and their families attending the Nike Tournament of Champions ate at area restaurants, filled their cars with gas and shopped to the tune of $6.8 million in economic impact. (3)
•The First Watch Half Marathon race, held in Sarasota, FL, brought a total of 6,200 visitors to the area and generated revenue of $2.5 million into the local economy, a 10 percent increase from 2012 to 2013. (4)
Pathik says the employment opportunities contribute to the economic and social vitality of the communities in which they operate. SFA is managing and advising facilities that will host more than 14 million visits in 2014—because of the large demand for assistance in operating sports parks, SFA COO, Jason Clement, expects to oversee the hiring of over 200 employees to assist in the daily operations of the facilities in the coming months.
“The growth of sports tourism has the potential to not only rebuild, but sustain the economies of the cities in which they operate,” said Clement.
SFA-managed facilities are expected to hire for full-time and part-time positions, in addition to positions for game officials and support workers—several of SFA’s newest facilities are hiring and are scheduled to open in 2014:
● Myrtle Beach Indoor Sports Facility in Myrtle Beach, SC, is currently interviewing for the positions of business development manager and general manager. These positions will be responsible for pitching the facility for business and scheduling events. The working staff positions for the facility will be hired in around December, 2014, two months before the opening.
● Rocky Top Sports World in Gatlinburg, TN, is already contracted to host 19 sports tournaments for the 2014-2015 season. The City of Gatlinburg and Sevier County are expecting the complex to attract over 30,000 people from across the country in its first year, and will hire accordingly to accommodate the crowds.
● Spooky Nook Sports Complex, located in Manheim, PA, is fully operational and is currently hiring for nearly 30 positions, including, but not limited to, Assistant Director of Basketball Operations, Guest Services Supervisor, and Nook Volleyball Academy Director.
In addition to SFA hiring, Pathik says the surge in tourism dollars will equate to higher employment opportunities for restaurants, hotels and many other businesses that support tourism – directly and indirectly.
Pathik has been a guest of Forbes, CNBC and other major media outlets educating on the economic impact of youth sports tourism (http://www.forbes.com/video/3123497210001/) to communities.
“It’s not going away,” says Pathik. “Nearly 30 percent of all trips taken in 2012 were for the sole purpose of attending an organized sporting event which increases to more than 90% when all trips involving some sports activity are considered.”
For more information about SFA and its suite of planning-funding-opening-management services, visit www.sportadvisory.com/home.html.
About the Sports Facilities Advisory:
The Sports Facilities Advisory (SFA) is the leading resource in sports facility planning and management. The Sports Facilities Advisory has helped to plan, fund, open and manage dozens of multimillion-dollar sports complexes in communities throughout the USA and internationally since its founding in 2003. The company serves public and private clients. It plans, funds, opens and manages facilities that cater to community and youth and amateur sporting events. For more information, visit www.sportadvisory.com/home.html.
