GO Indoor

10 S ome operators have dreamed of opening their own facility ever since they first stepped on the field of an indoor sports center. For others, the initiative comes more gradually and thoughtfully after research and planning. Maxine Appenbrink, owner and operator of Players Indoor Sports Center in Naperville, Illinois, never played soccer. Although she has plenty of business experience, Maxine never intended to open an indoor sports facility until...well, until she opened one. "We just kind of fell into it," she says. She began, like most of us do when we want information on something, by searching online. Her daughter was an avid lacrosse player, and her team had no place to play. Maxine's research led to her discovery of indoor sports facilities in the area and USIndoor's Facility Operators Conference. Maxine attended the Startup Track at the conference and met Jim Cline, a member of USIndoor's team of professional consultants. This was in 2005. Maxine remembers Jim teasing her: "You're going to love this business. It's a bunch of hours and very little money." At the time, Maxine was retired and had been for several years. She and her husband had operated a few businesses, the most recent of which was a temporary service for technicians, such as engineers, designers, architects and drafters. In the 80s and 90s, Naperville grew considerably. Research and technology contributed significantly to that growth. Hence, the Appenbrinks' business fared very well. "We had five offices. We ran about 6,000 W-2s every year. It was a nice, big company. We sold it in April of 2001 at the top of the market." Their kids were in middle school and high school then, so it was a great time to be retired. Though their son was a diver and their daughter played lacrosse, they didn't consider themselves to be a sports family. "This is the last thing we should be doing," says Maxine. "We are not a sports family. I'm not your typical fit person." However, in 2005, Maxine accidentally began her career as an indoor sports facility operator. She jokingly recalls thinking: "Let's throw all our money into this insane idea!" PLAYERS INDOOR SPORTS CENTER NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS RESOURCEFULNESS CONQUERS ALL Players Indoor Sports Center opened in May 2008, later than anticipated. "It couldn't have been worse–unless we had opened in April. We sat for months." The sense of accomplishment the Appenbrinks experienced by selling their previous business at the top of the market was replaced by the uncertainty of opening a business during an economic downturn. Also, because Players Indoor opened in the spring, everyone was already playing somewhere else. Naperville is a western suburb of Chicago. The Chicago Metropolitan Area, as expansive and populous as it is, contains lots of indoor facilities. While not every facility there faces stiff competition, Players Indoor is situated within ten miles of six facilities and twenty miles of twenty. Between the time the Appenbrinks began discussing the possibility of opening an indoor sports facility and Players Indoor Sports opened, at least two more facilities had cropped up. After Players Indoor Sports opened, at least three others opened as

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