Community aquatics planning: the family recreation center

The majority of community park and recreation programs generally consist of indoor and outdoor activities funded by tax dollars that often don't cover the cost, and most generally do not amortize capital costs. With declining funds from federal and state authorities, municipalities have had to either raise taxes to continue operating and maintaining existing facilities and/or to develop new facilities. Their only other choice is to cut back on existing recreation programs or discard plans for sorely-needed new programs.

The revenue-positive family recreation center (FRC) concept will allow a community to expand its recreation and leisure facilities and provide for the needs of its constituencies. FRC programming promotes a "quality of life" concept by providing more exercise-oriented programs for fitness and well-being, community meeting space for local community projects and, in general, family-oriented activities designed to appeal to all family members, from infants to senior citizens. Most important, the center is designed and managed so that revenues produced by charging reasonable daily fees ($5 to $7 per visit) will cover both operating and capital costs.

The prototype FRC currently under consideration by a midwestern community will be a 212,000 square foot center for family recreation and community activities. Here families, kids and grandparents can come together for a variety of healthy activities which meet the needs and interests of every age group.

Upon arriving, visitors will enter the facility at the crossroads of its upper level galleria where they can view all the unfolding facilities of the recreation center on the level below, including:

* An aquatic leisure pool complex whose spacious decks, interior gardens and landscaping and elaborate natural rockscapes surround a seemingly endless variety of waterslides, warm-water pools, spas and wavepools.

* An Olympic training and competition aquatic facility with its 50-meter Olympic pool, ten-meter diving tower and tank, event seating, press facilities, changing rooms and administrative spaces.

* A fitness and wellness center incorporating a multipurpose gymnasium, aerobics and cardiovascular exercise facilities; weight equipment; free-weight circuit; a three-lane, banked, indoor running track; locker rooms and lounge.

* Restaurants, a snack bar and girl shops.

Grouped along the galleria at the upper level, will be special function multipurpose and community service space designed to broaden the base within the community that the recreation center serves. Facilities will include:

* A child-care/nursery with separate entrance and a dedicated child-scaled interior playground.

* A 400 fixed seat community theatre.

* Flexible meeting rooms for community and corporate group functions.

* A recreation center for teenagers.

* Multipurpose adult education facilities, including a media center and library.

* A senior citizen center.

* A restaurant.

* Administrative and support spaces.

Architecturally, the FRC is organized along the clerestory lighted gallerias that radiate outward from its entrance at 90 degrees to each other. From these gallerias, dramatic views open to the excitement of the leisure pools, water slides, fitness and wellness center, and Olympic competition center on the lower level. The bi-axial linear plan anticipates the phased addition of even more programs and facilities such as an ice skating rink, a sports medicine center or further expansion of the competition swim center.

The focal point of the center, the aquatic leisure center, features a transparent insulated and truss-supported roof to flood the center with daylight and allow UV rays to nourish plants and tan bathers. Within this environment, all water features are ozone purified and humidity is carefully controlled for comfort. Hants and trees flourish and sweet warm breezes bring images of tropical beaches to the community year round.

Site Selection

The key component to developing a successful FRC is selecting an appropriate site. There are three ingredients in creating the ideal site: central location within a community, easy access-- preferably near major highway systems and a highly visible location. Ideally, the facility should be located near high-traffic and retail/commercial areas to allow both the FRC and the retail community to benefit. Shoppers would be able to combine shopping trips with recreational activities. The existence of childcare facilities will allow a parent to leave children at the facility while running errands.

There are three basic alternatives that a community faces when acquiring a site:

* Purchase the parcel of land.

Pros: Ability to select ideal site.

Cons: Acquisition costs may be high and site development costs expensive, both escalating overall project costs.

* Utilize existing site already owned by the municipality.

Pros: No initial land costs.

Cons: May not be the ideal location and/or site selection may be limited.

* Acquire land from a third party---commercial developer or private citizen.

Pros: Locations should be good if located near commercial properties, malls or industrial/commercial office buildings. Possibility of convincing individual to donate land to the community.

Cons: Limited site alternatives; negotiations with developer could be difficult and lengthy.

Part of the initial consulting services a community should seek from an FRC development partner is a site feasibility analysis. Organizers commissioned a market study by an independent marketing consulting group to gauge public user interest in an FRC. They mailed a description of the proposed FRC and a two-page questionnaire to 4,000 households. Almost 400 households responded to the survey questionnaire, producing an approximate ten percent response rate. A follow-up telephone survey confirmed that the mall survey was unbiased.

Common to all respondents, the questionnaire ascertained anticipated frequency of use of the center, desirable architectural features, overall attitudes about the center and a demographic profile. Half of the questionnaires suggested a $5 dally user fee, the other haft a $7 dally user fee to gauge price sensitivity. In brief, the survey was designed to indicate:

* Whether the center would be a welcomed addition in the community;

* Who would use the center;

* How often each household would use the center;

* How much each visitor would be willing to use the center; and

* Which specific features would be most desirable.

The survey concluded the following:

* Approximately 85 percent of the respondents from both the mall and telephone survey felt that an FRC would be a welcomed addition to their community.

* On a monthly basis, the center is likely to attract approximately 1 visit per household in a 20-minute drive time area (186,535 indicated visits, or 178,798 households for a ratio of 1.04 monthly visits per household). This ratio is similar to actual usage reported at two aquatic leisure centers located within eight miles of each other in Holland. In the Dutch communities of Enschede and Haaksbergen, there were approximately 111,000 visitors monthly in 1991 from a population base of 382,000 (127,000 households) within a 13-mile radius of the facilities. The ratio of 111,000 for 127,000 households indicates average usage of 0.9 monthly visits per household, very similar to the market study conducted in the mid-western U.S. city.

* At this level of usage, approximately 2.2 million visits annually could be expected at the FRC.

* The survey measured unadjusted usage rates of the proposed FRC per household per month if the daily use fee were $5 or $7. The survey results show that there is no statistical difference in terms of monthly usage, whether the dally fee is set at 85 or $7. Moreover, approximately two-thirds of all respondents would prefer to pay a daily admission fee rather than yearly membership dues to use the FRC.

* Key features sought by the respondents to the survey include leisure aquatics, a fitness and aerobic area and a multi-purpose gym and track. (See Table 1). Additional desirable amenities include an outdoor aquatic park, space for adult educational programs, an ice skating center, a recreation/game lounge, and space for teen programming (See Table 2).

Tables 3 and 4 illustrate projected attendance by feature and total revenues by feature respectively.

The project, as it is currently conceived, consists of six interrelated yet distinct components. In attempting to determine whether the project will generate sufficient cash flow to cover all operating and financing costs, we evaluated each component separately so that we could assess the relative contribution to the economic feasibility of the overall project.

Operating Surplus Expected

While three of the six components are expected to generate significant cash flow surpluses, (aquatic leisure center, fitness center, water park) the other three units (competition aquatic facility, ice skating rink, community center) are expected to be cash negative. Overall, however, by combining the cash negative components with the cash positive components, the project should be able to cover operating and financing obligations. The project is, in fact, expected to generate a $1 million cash flow surplus which can be reinvested in community projects.

Besides financing costs, personnel is the single highest expense item. Each personnel position has been carefully evaluated and overlapping functions were eliminated. The second highest expense category is utilities. We consulted industry experts and calculated heat loss rates to determine gas and electricity usage. Insurance agents made conservative assumptions regarding general and liability insurance. Other assumptions were determined through contact with people experienced in the operations of similar facilities. A breakdown of project expenses revealed:

  Percent of Total Revenue

* Debt Service                        29.0%
* Ancillary Expenses                  19.0%
* Personnel Costs                     14.0%
* Utilities                            4.5%
* Other Fixed Expenses                 7.0%
* Liability and General Insurance      5.5%
* Management Fee                       5.0%
* Capital Reserve                      5.0%
* Surplus Cash Flow                   11.5%

We determined construction costs by asking a construction estimating consultant with years of experience in reviewing and estimating recreational facilities. Additions to base construction costs were made for architectural and engineering costs, construction management fees and furnishings, fixtures and equipment. Total costs for the project were estimated at between 8135 and 8155 per square foot with actual construction brick and mortar below 8120 per square foot.

The family recreation center concept has interested over 300 U.S. communities in the last year, several of which have projects in various stages of feasibility studies and design. Based on positive results of a market study, coupled with community leadership support, a proposed Family Recreation Center can utilize an alternative financing method not requiring general obligation bonds or the full faith and credit of the host community. There is no question that an FRC adds a new dimension to public leisure and recreation activities without burdening the taxpaying public for additional moneys to support recreational facilities. European Indoor Aquatic Leisure Centers have been enormously successful and have over 15 years of operating performance to legitimize the idea of incorporating their concepts as the core attraction in a U.S.-style Family Recreation Center.

COPYRIGHT 1993 National Recreation and Park Association
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group