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Understanding and Applying Management of Sport Facilities

Willie Casey

University of Arizona Global Campus

SRM 300 – Sports Facility Management

Professor Eric Dybvig

July 25th, 2022

Facility: Grady Cole Center, Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte NC

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Introduction (Facility & Paper)

Throughout this class, endeavors into the academics have been taken to ensure proper

understanding, comprehension and acquisition of knowledge regarding the topic of management,

specifically taking into consideration sports facility or facility management. For this final paper,

intricacies and nuances of all those topics, methodologies and ideas that have been discussed

talked about and acquired throughout the class would be discussed, and further utilized as well as

applied to a real-life scenario and professional position. Management in its own is basically

administration process for any organization be it a sports facility or a business or even a

government body with its sole purpose being the management of resources that the facility,

business or the organization utilizes. After clarification of management, we get into facility

management which gets ever so close to the objective of this class and this paper, facility

management in its essence is all the support, tools as well as services that maintain the function

safety and sustenance of a facility, it’s buildings, ground, infrastructure and the people that

utilize that facility. Facility management or manager not only takes into account the facility as

itself but also the employees, the owners and facilitators as well as people that use the facility in

order to ensure smooth operations (IBM, Retrieved 2022). This is the same for sports facility

management, only difference being that the facility is specifically designed and catered towards

sports, games and recreation etcetera. Be it the operations of the facility, games and audience

management or maintenance of the building, other facilities such as training areas etcetera or the

last but not the least, risk management of the entire facility and population that is in or utilizes

the facility, be it employees or the audience, all of this fall under the umbrella of responsibilities

given to a sports facility manager and expectations are stated accordingly.

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Consequently stating, the facility and Recreation Center that has been chosen and utilized

as the facility requirement for this paper is the Grady Cole center of the central Piedmont

Community College located in Charlotte, North Carolina. A relatively small Civic Center with a

seating capacity of 3000, it is a sports facility and Civic Centre that can be utilized and has been

utilized for several decades for quite a few sports such as women volleyball, wrestling and even

TV performances in its glorious past. Originally built in 1954, it was consumed by and

unfortunate fire and subsequently reconstructed and opened in 1956 operated by the

Mecklenburg County and owned by the city of Charlotte. The Civic Centre has been utilized by

several organizations and even the Queens university of Charlotte when their athletic on campus

facility was under construction in 2012. It also hosted the women’s volleyball tournament of

2007 and multiple concerts from celebrities such as Ozzy Osbourne and various different groups

in seventies 80s and 90s. It is part of the Mecklenburg County sports plex which also includes

the stadium known as American Legion Memorial Stadium. The facility is maintained and

insured to accommodate multiple sport activities as well as community meetings and include the

permanent stage with basketball flooring serving the community and people off Mecklenburg

County of the city of Charlotte. It should be noted that its original name was the Charlotte Park

center however, in 1987, it was renamed in the honor of the WBT radio personality, Grady Cole

(Mecklengburg County, Retrieved 2022).

Interview Responses and Reflections

Upon reaching out to the management and researching as well as relevant authorities

about the required interview for this paper, following responses and information was required

where the interview and research. Regarding the skills and qualification for a sports facility

manager, it was informed that as far as education was concerned a bachelor or undergraduate
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status is somewhat required as it ensures the academic background of an individual and it was

also stated that those that were educated in the fields of management and business would be

given preference, since the facility is so diverse and caters to a wide variety of events, the

selection process squills required not only focus on the sports facility management but facility

management as a whole and values clear and concise communication as well as command over

management organizational skills. Apart from that, the usual skills that are required as mentioned

already are organizational management skills and those are tested via interviews after the

preliminary process was done for selection. Are really important issue that is mentioned and

required as part of the facility manager here is good communication and an approachable attitude

during the working as the wide variety and diverse population that comes through the doors of

this center requires a good attitude to be kept interested in the facility.

Regarding the designing and planning factor, the facility has been constructed and under

operations for well over 50 years which makes it quite a challenge for the current management to

explain the construction and planning strategies that were utilized back then, it should be noted

that the first center did burn down in an unfortunate fire and it was reconstructed, repaired and

discontinued to be maintained after 1956. The usual things and requirement when constructing

such facilities for the community is the basics which include durability, maintainability and

cleanliness. Are really important issue that was also discussed was the input of the community

and whether or not they consider it a valuable asset of their community as a recreational,

entertainment and sport facility where families and people come together as a whole to enjoy

their weekend of their time. This was certainly the case for this center as it served not only for

the sports facility but for concerts and bands etc. as well and people embraced it fully. Various

codes and building regulations were also mentioned that they had to keep in place and the
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struggle of the facility management to continuously ensure maintenance according to new and

updated rules such as the American disability act was also discussed. The managers and

management were quick to mention that facilities adjacent to the Brady call center such as

Charlotte’s Memorial Stadium have received proposals and undergoing makeovers and that this

facility would also require some. Select changes setting

Upon inquiring about the innovations and changes that are made during the planning or

design of sporty facilities, the main and probably the most critical matter that was discussed was

the use of technology and computer aided designs during the planning and designing phases of

the facilities. The management stated that had the facility been constructed today, the shape the

facilities would be quite different as newer technologies have evolved to provide for quirkier,

cost efficient and save designs which were impossible or quite difficult to achieve back in the

day such as the times when the construction for this center was done which was in 1956. Another

thing that the innovation part of the interview when four was the utilization of Internet and

related and related technologies in not only in developmental phase but the outreach and

advertisement of the facilities as well. The crowds and the people knowing about this historic

facility have increased in grid numbers as soon as the Internet has got the grip of the facility.

Regarding the planning part, again the same innovative technologies are now used to understand

cost efficient ways to maintain the facility and improve its efficiency when hosting events

etcetera.

The aforementioned discussion of the designing and planning while the construction of

this force facility although not provided enough in-depth analysis and detail since the reasoning

behind was given of the age of the facility and the change of staff from olden times, it did

mention the various different rules and regulations that the management had to look after.
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Similarly, those regulations included the Americans with Disabilities act and facilities

and boards such as the US access board continuously enforcing and ensuring the implementation

and execution of those design and construction phases of development of such facilities are also

something that the management has to look after as an additional responsibility. Regarding the

design and overall physical construction, it was informed that since the facility has been

constructed and reconstructed once the physical look and but construction has not been altered

that much, however, recommendations and maintenance as well as updates have been provided

to ensure the maximum provision of facilities and access to all people irrespective of the

disability that they have. Talking about the day-to-day basis, it was also stated that it is a routine

exercise after or before the hosting of any event when a population and people or audience

gathers that people with disabilities especially those with wheelchairs etc. come up with queries

and are helped by the management based on whatever is required by them. It is also stated that

they had their ability of the city or government to update and redesign the facility, multiple new

helping yields would be added to ensure complete access and even more help to people with

disability.

Regarding the risk management, the management and current facility managers were very

cooperative in discussing that about their facility since it is a facility with a history of an

unfortunate accident. After the reconstruction all of that was taken into account and risk

management has been an integral part for the sports facility management and managers of this

facility. The basic concept of risk management is in its application to designing planning and

management phases of any sports facility this ensures not only the safety of the population

protecting it from exposure to hazardous situation and rendering the facility helpless but also

protects the facility from lawsuits and claims of liability when such an accident occurs due to the
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inability of the sports facility management to implement a risk management strategy or

application. Regarding their application, it was informed that all the employees are given ID

cards and the areas where a general person isn’t allowed to be admitted or all clarified ID cards

are necessary to ensure who comes in and out of the facility The management mentioned that

although nothing is perfect and accidents in unfortunate events are part of life, the experience

and past of the facility as well as the requirement of the visibility for the management and

managers of the sports facility to be excellent and vigilant on the matters of risk management

have ensured and successfully kept the facility running in operational even during tough times.

Regarding the funding and other construction questions, the management was quite not

clear or maybe not as transparent due to some unexplained reasons. And even if they could be as

they mentioned the funding was as the record suggests was most probably done by the city as it

is the current owner of the ground and the handling was under the Mecklenburg County as it is of

right now regarding the most important factor in managing such a facility to be safe and public,

the management and the managers gave one unanimous answer which was an approachable

attitude, clear and concise communication and management organizational skills which takes

into account the entire team and not just the manager to ensure smooth operations. Regarding the

unexperienced facility managers, the group suggested and the sports facility management

suggested that they talk after and take into account the experienced individuals in the facility

wherever they work, facilities don’t just come up and become people’s favorite, they are made

that way by years of hard work of employees, and facility managers.

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Regarding the comparisons to the course line of the course and the interview responses,

some observations have been made. Firstly, in various discussions that have been done

throughout the class there was striking similarity and similar points being raised by the sports

facility management of the Grady Cole center as well as the managers that have been in their

discussion. Especially regarding the skills and aptitudes that were required. And important

distinctions between leadership and management was also made as the management stated that

there is a difference between a leader and a manager and there are two a manager management

and organizational skills are much more important as well as communication instead of the

leading and individual approach that a leader may take. This was an ambiguity that was

discussed in the class where leadership and management might have been modeled up but that

was cleared up and as in line with the course text, communication was considered the hallmark

of the most important skill for a manager (Indeed Editorial Team, 2021). Regarding the

construction, planning and overall physical construction of the facility as well as the funding, the

answer Givens were quite vague and based on the current status of the facility this is in a bit

conflict with what the course text and course has originally stated, which is that proper budgeting

and funding sources should be provided and giving. A good comparison would be the

Milwaukee Bucks arena that was also part of this course during our discussions, proper

budgeting and division of sources of fund was given and the reasoning behind its cancellation

etc. was also provided which was the public funding issues and the funds being generated by

taxes. This was an expectation from the sports facility management of the center mentioned

there, however, due to various aforementioned reasons, they weren’t able to accomplish or state

any of such tasks and provide for any such expectations. The risk management part was

specifically detailed and in-depth and the sports facility management was keen to explain how a
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facility having a history of an unfortunate event has to have a more vigilant policy as well as

steam in terms of risk management and that they were happily stating how they have continued

to provide for the facility and keeping it risk free for over 5 decades.

The application was probably the most important and talked about part during the

interview as well as my research of the facility and the sports facility management. Even if a

person understands the theories, ideas and matters of sports facility management, it is very

important that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to apply those in real life. Regarding

this paper and this facility, the management stated that the skills and competencies that were

required are still required if a position opens up in the sports facility management of the Grady

Cole center. Furthermore, the communication and approachable attitude that is a permanent

requirement for this facility is utilized on a daily basis by the facility management and

continuously talked about matter on the interview as well. An example that they provided that

took into account the skills and aptitudes of a manager including communication, the

responsibilities of a manager in order to ensure access to all under the American with Disabilities

Act and risk management as well as liability protection was when individuals with disabilities or

allowed and able to directly contact the sports facility management for any seating or other

service that they might desire or require in order to access the facility and take part in it as an

equal individual and how the entire management and manager specifically are brief upon an

approachable attitude and clear and concise communication with such individuals to ensure they

receive the care and required service that they need. This not only ensures that they will come

back and continue to utilize this facility as their Recreation Center, this also in shows that no

lawsuit is followed up by such individuals which are upset either due to the inability of the

management to cater for such individuals with disabilities.

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Conclusion

Conclusively speaking, whether it was the theoretical and bookish knowledge that was

required throughout the course under the guidance of the honorable professor, or the real life

application of all of those ideas and management of sports facility in real life on an actual facility

in this final paper, one thing remains clear, management is an important and irreplaceable part of

any sports facility or facility in general that is in process, in proposal or constructed and currently

serving the people of its city, state or country. From the skills and aptitudes of the management,

be it communication or organizational skills, to the risk management and liability protection by

those same individuals in the sports facility management or the sports facility manager

themselves, it is not the facility that is the most important asset rather than individuals that keep

it operating smoothly, regardless of risks they face with their risk management strategies and

regardless of the new regulations or rules that are passed to ensure protection of the people as

they will just take it as an additional responsibility and add it to their already impressive book of

accolades as a sports facility manager.

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References

Indeed Editorial Team, 2021. 16 Essential Skills for a Facility Manager. Retrieved from 16

Essential Skills for a Facility Manager | Indeed.com

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/skills-of-facility-manager

IBM. Retrieved 2022. Defining Facilities Management. https://www.ibm.com/topics/facilities-

management#:~:text=Facilities%20management%20can%20be%20defined,Capital%20project

%20planning%20and%20management

Mecklengburg County. (Retrieved 2022). Grady Cole Center and American Legion Memorial

Stadium. Retrieved from Mecklengburg Goverement: https://www.google.com/url?

sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjbsZDW4

ZX5AhUGOuwKHc-KDV4QFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mecknc.gov

%2FParkandRec%2FALMS-and-GCC%2FPages

%2FHome.aspx&usg=AOvVaw2cY0M-0YyG_GAdTUNOyJmD

Sawyer, T. H. (2019). Facility planning and design for health, physical activity, recreation, and

sport (14th ed.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.). Sagamore-Venture

Publishing.
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