FALL2016
9
planning For Expansion
Rather than overbuild at the start, it may
be worth leaving room for expansion when
finances and the business plan can support
it. While it may be easy to design a building
with a wall that can easily be removed for
an addition, operators should be sure to
understand the additional needs for parking,
restrooms, and water retention, etc.
"Infrastructure-wise, you can plan for the
bigger one and phase into it, but you don't
want to come back after you've already put
in your X-Y-Z size retention pond and have to
double that," Gill advises.
Still, stocking away some assets up front
may seem too tempting to avoid. Under
these circumstances Gill still says owners
must be wary.
"We've seen a lot of facilitates never get to
expand, because in their hopes of wanting to
do that, they have bought more land, they have
paid for infrastructure, they have
accumulated all theseadditional
costs on day one; and because
they have all those costs on
day one, they never get to
the point of expansion
because they can't afford it.
It's a dual-edged sword."
iT's
"Your"
markET
Most importantly,
it's vital to
remember there is no single
formula that fits all or most
facilities. Every town and every project is
different, and what works in one location may
not work a short distance away.
Gill has seen this play out with many of his
projects in the northeastern U.S. "I can go
100 miles in any given direction, and find
two similar communities from a statistical
standpoint. And in one community they're
paying $1000 to sign a team up for a
league, and 100 miles away they're paying
$3000. And both of them think that's
perfectly normal."
Even if the startup costs in the two towns
were identical, other characteristics in the
towns can make them vastly different.
A feasibility study from one of USIndoor's
consultants can pinpoint those differences and
make a significant difference in your plans.
"Seek those who know how to look at your
community the right way," says Gill.
It needs
to be convenient
and easy to describe
but it does not have
to be on prominent
property, because
you probably can't
afford that
property.
