Outline of the Project
The building of a all-inclusive playground at BucsSports Bombers Baseball Stadium along the left-field fence parking lot provides multiple benefits. While parents and guardians cheer on the home team to victory, this playground provides enhanced levels of customer service, increases the entertainment value, promotes physical fitness, while creating lasting memories for future BucsSports Bombers fans in a family-friendly environment. Those affected by the playground construction project include fans, youth, Bomber team members, and the local community. Fans with children benefit from having a safe place where children engage in free-play while parents and guardians enjoy the game. The BucsSport Baseball team benefit from increase game attendance, which improves the atmosphere. The community benefits from having an enhanced facility that promotes the game of baseball in a family-friendly environment.
Project objectives
As part of the BucsSports Bomber’s Baseball Organization's continued commitment to enhancing the fan experience, a feasibility study determined the need for an all-inclusive playground facility. In this project plan an all-inclusive playground is defined as a universal play area that provides the opportunity for play for individuals 5 to 10 years of age regardless of ability.
Completing this project and securing long term success requires achieving the (5) project objectives
- (1) 80% of the funding provided through naming rights and corporate sponsorship. Assessment: Fundraising Report
- (2) the playground design supports physical development, and creates social opportunities for children as well as family members with mobility, visual, hearing, sensory, social/emotional, communication, cognitive and other impairments with special consideration given, but not limited to shade, surfaces, seating, and providing parallel play with varying levels of challenge. Assessment: National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) Design and ADA Accessible Playground Surfacing Checklists, and Fan surveys
- (3) the project increases youth ticket sales by 5%, and averages 60 youth engaged in free-play activities during each game. Assessment: Monitoring of Ticket sales and point of entry data
- (4) the project increases season ticket sales and overall game attendance by 5% each season. Assessment: Monitoring of Ticket sales and point of entry data
- (5) a minimum of 20 suite level youth events such as birthday parties and special events are booked each season. Assessment: Monitoring of Special Event sales
Analytic Approach
Naming rights and equipment sponsorship secures 80% of the funding required to build and operate the playground is the primary goal for financing this project. Completing this playground increases revenue by 5% via ticket sales, concessions and playground admissions. It also provides the BucsSports Bombers staff with an opportunity to create promotional events and activities for this targeted demographics. A quantitative survey determined the demographic attending BucsSports Bombers Baseball games, whereas families, donors, and season ticket holders assessed fan experience and playground equipment needs via a qualitative survey.
Throughout the season, qualitative and quantitative data is collected via surveys of the season ticket holders with children, purchasers of single, and multi-game packages (included youth tickets) to develop targeted profile information of attendance, revenue, fan experience and corporate sponsorship. Following the playground opening, surveys determine the level of success and any required changes that would improve the playground fan experience.
Project Timeline
The ideal time to open the playground is during the early Spring which means the planning process starts in the Summer which allows the goal of having the BucsSports Bombers Baseball Playground up and running the following Spring.
Stakeholders
The term stakeholder refers to anyone who is invested in the welfare and success of the organization. In this feasibility study the stakeholders includes fans, ticket holders, sponsors, and staff. The targeted demographics are youth (5 to 10 years of age), families and corporate partners.
Positive Effects
- Youth: increased emotional confidence via social interaction and physical activity in a safe space.
- Family: enhanced family-friendly environment.
- Ticket holders: increased value by improving the fan experience.
- Community: enhanced environment that promotes family, physical activity, and provides a location for birthday parties and special events.
- Corporations: opportunity association via sponsorship opportunity, hosting family, and networking events
Negative Effects
- Club owners and Ticket holders: limited parking space due to playground construction.
- Tickets holders and youth: playground operating rules and procedures.
- Gameday staff: training in education for security and staffing needed for the playground
- Club Owner: increased gameday attendance and foot traffic on the club level
Anticipated Budget
The preliminary cost estimates for the all-inclusive BucsSports Bomber Baseball playground is estimated at $5.12 million dollars which covers all anticipated construction cost. Soft costs associated with design and project administration are not included. For budgeting purposes, soft costs are likely to be approximately 25 to 35% of construction costs.
Anticipated Personnel Needs
PERSONNEL NEEDS: The National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) recommends the playground supervision ratio of adult supervisors to children should mirror classroom ratios. Class size ratio of 32 to 1 which translates to 1 playground supervisor for every 32 youth. Given the 100 persons maximum capacity of the BucsSports Bomber Baseball playground, four qualified and trained supervisors are recommended to staff the facility during games. The playground construction requires increasing staffing, the external staffing increase includes corporate sponsorships and marketing. Also included is the staffing plan are interns, ticket operators, security, concessions, maintenance, and groundskeeping. The rise in fan attendance also requires an increase in customer service staffing.
Progress Assessment
Short-term success in the building of this playground requires the scheduling of weekly construction meetings were topics such as timelines, steps towards completion, and feedback are generated regarding related issues. Success in the short term also involves the use of progress milestones and landmarks, which ensure that the development of the playground moves toward the targeted dates and meet deadlines. Long-term success requires continuous monitoring of components such as game day and event operations which include: active use of the playground facility, youth game attendance, ticket sales, fan experience surveys, revenue, suite rentals, sponsorships, special events and concession sales. Monitoring is accomplished by integrating technology and generating reports for weekly staff meetings and biweekly progress reports.
Assessment Measures
- 80% of the funding provided through naming rights and corporate sponsorship is monitored during the feasibility, concept design, and development phase of the construction project.
- The playground design specification is monitored during the feasibility project parameter phase of the project.
- Increasing youth ticket sales by 5% and averages 60 youth engaged in free-play activities during each game. This is monitored throughout the season at weekly staff meetings.
- Increasing season ticket sales and overall game attendance by 5% are monitored throughout the season at weekly staff meetings.
- The goal of securing a minimum of 20 suite-level youth events birthday parties and special events are also monitored throughout the season at weekly staff meetings.