Thread the Needle

Most of the destinations we work with would be considered tier two or tier three markets. They are not large metropolitan areas that have pro teams and large stadiums. They are most often college towns in cities with less than 100,000 people. While these destinations may be smaller in stature, it is often the case that we can help them make great strides that positively impact their community. It is much harder to make a noticeable difference in a larger market.

When we lead a strategic planning process we always conduct a deep dive into the destination’s facility inventory. What venues do they have that are tournament ready, what facilities are missing, what do their regional competitors have, etc. In nearly every project we walk into, there is some pre-existing sentiment to build a new facility. Often times, the push to get something new constructed is around a sport that some community leader either played or their kids play, with little or no analysis conducted on the front end.

The key in any facility analysis is to sort out what the community needs are as well as the tourism impact that could be derived. On top of that, you have to analyze what the destination can support from the hospitality side of the equation. Quite often we get started on a project and there is a push to build some large tournament driving facility. However when you look at the hotel inventory in some of these markets, there isn’t enough capacity to host larger tournaments that a competition ready venue could attract. Building something that is too big for a destination can cause a spike in hotel rates and compression that will drive visitation to neighboring communities, none of which is a positive thing.

As we move through these facility analysis processes, we are trying to find where all of the key factors meet. That is, we are trying to thread the needle between community use, local sporting club needs, college and high school gaps, what would benefit the hospitality industry in off-peak seasons, and lastly, what is the ceiling for the number of rooms that could be available on a given tournament weekend. Another way to look at this is to find where all of the circles intersect together (think Venn diagram).

Conducting this high level of due diligence is a key to the success of any facility development project. One tip for those that are just starting this process is to straw poll a handful of user groups like those we noted above, and see if there is truly a “there” there. Before going down the road of hiring a consulting firm and the cash outlay that comes with that, interview your key leaders in the community to shape what their needs are and what appetite they have to be involved in such a project, both with their time and financial resources. If there is some momentum on the front side, then it could be time to bring in someone from the outside to pressure test whatever venue concept you are thinking about.

Do your due diligence early on. Find the common ground in the middle. Thread your community’s “needle” for long-term success.