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in programming and marketing and because of her lacrosse
background. At the same time, Maxine also knew working with
her daughter would be tough. "Think about it," she says. "You
love your mother, but would you want to work with her?"
What Maxine could not have predicted, however, is that her
daughter's boyfriend, who became her fiancee shortly after she
was hired and is now her husband, would become Maxine's right-
hand man. She originally hired him as a closer. "He is amazing!"
Maxine says. He's a former rugby player and, according to
Maxine, very sharp. He's been at the facility for three years.
The other manager is a former Marine who, Maxine says, runs
the place like an embassy guard. She also has a part-time
bookkeeper and a part-time administrator. Maxine is thrilled
with the current staff.
SPECIAL EVENTS
The irony of all ironies regarding the indoor sports business is,
of course, that your success depends upon what you can do
besides indoor sports. Luckily, Maxine figured this out early.
"Special events have competition on rates, and I know I'm the
most expensive one in the suburbs, but our fields are a little
bigger. We didn't do the standard 80 x 180; we did 100 x 200
because that's the size of indoor lacrosse, football, baseball and
cricket." (Naperville has 500 cricket teams!)
The fields are surrounded by glass, and once organizations realize
that the glass can be taken out, they see many opportunities. For
example, Players Indoor Sports is a great place for a home show.
The demographics of Naperville are perfect for one as well.
"Red Robin had their trainers in here–140 of them–and we did
this big Survivor Day. We can do anything because it's just a big
space."
How do you do your homework to get special events like that at
your facility? Maxine's response: "Oh, man, you just gotta keep
talking to everybody. Just keep talking to everybody."
