To mark 50 years of Athletic Business, we polled hundreds of readers from each of our main vertical markets — college athletics, college recreation, community recreation, high school athletics, health and fitness, aquatics and architecture — to gauge the current state of the industry. What follows is a comprehensive analysis of our readers’ perspectives on the verticals they serve. To begin, we asked each of these groups about their operating budgets and deferred maintenance. Despite finding consensus on several topics, the budgetary changes across these verticals varied greatly. Respondents found far greater common ground when describing their deferred maintenance status, with a clear majority reporting less than $2 million of maintenance to be completed at their facilities.
Find your industry segment in the following pages — or get the lay of the land from your colleagues across other industries — to compare your experiences to those of other loyal AB readers. From fan behavior and emerging sports to renovations and staffing challenges, there is no shortage of topics to dive into.
While collegiate and high school programs reconcile stagnant or decreasing budgets (see page 37), 58% of survey respondents working in community recreation report budget increases over the past five years. Moreover, they have achieved this impressive growth despite a majority of respondents (65%) reporting little or no public-private partnerships. These community rec professionals have their eyes set on the future, showing a growing interest in sustainability initiatives, team sports leagues for community building and finding new ways to promote longevity among staff members. Nearly half (48%) of respondents say that retaining qualified part-time staff is their greatest staffing challenge, while 55% say that referrals remain their top recruiting tool over career fairs and job boards.
Stephen Springs
FAIA, senior principal,
Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects
What role has Brinkley Sargent Wiginton Architects played in the evolution of community recreation centers?
BSW was founded in 1975 and over the past five decades has emerged as a leader in public recreation facility planning and design. The firm’s growth in this space follows the trajectory of Athletic Business, which was founded in 1977. BSW’s work has been in nearly every edition of the magazine’s Architectural Showcase since 1996, and its architects have served as Facilities of Merit™ judges and have been frequent contributing writers.
What key changes or trends have you observed in community-based recreation?
As budgets tighten and construction costs soar, more municipal parks and recreation departments are partnering with other public entities to share space. Libraries are one of the most common partnerships of this type. The 47,000-square-foot East Arlington Library and Recreation Center in Texas, for example, opened in late 2020 with a shared-spaces concept that has been uniquely successful, with intergenerational programming leading the way.
What aspect of recreation centers has changed the most over the years?
Multigenerational programming has shaped — and continues to shape — community centers. One prime example is the demand for aquatics facilities and programming. Meeting this demand can take the form of multiple indoor and outdoor rectangle and activity pools serving targeted groups — including pools set to different temperatures to attract older adults and users with therapeutic needs.
What challenges do municipal recreation center operators face today?
The debate continues over recovering operational costs versus providing low-cost services when planning a new community project. Funding new facilities used to involve defining the program needs for a facility, and then deciding how best to meet those needs while establishing capital costs. Budgeting annual operating expenses was rarely discussed, as a large subsidy — typically from a city’s general fund — was simply the expectation. Now, covering operating costs is a prevalent talking point from day one among city managers, recreation directors, elected officials and even the general public. The question ultimately comes down to: How much are you willing — and, perhaps more importantly, how much are you able — to commit to general operating funds to support ongoing operations and maintenance of a facility? That drives what you build.
Where do you see municipal recreation heading?
Parks and recreation departments were validated by many as an essential service during the pandemic, and now municipal recreation leaders are being challenged to maintain that status — especially when it comes to allocation of additional funding and resources. The National Recreation and Park Association recently unveiled its “Seven Dimensions of Well-Being” explaining how they are interdependent and interconnected. The seven dimensions are cultural, economic, environmental, intellectual, mental, physical and social. And at their center is access for all. A perfect example of “access for all” is the role public recreation facilities, with their spacious gymnasiums and locker rooms, play in natural disasters and tragic events. They house people temporarily displaced by weather events, such as hurricanes or extreme heat or cold, and serve as reunification centers in the wake of community emergencies.
