JULY/AUGUST 2004

Indoors and out, choosing your floors and sport surfaces can be daunting at the least, a dizzying array of products, manufacturers and systems, backed up by product information that requires an advanced physics degree to comprehend. Our special pullout section demystifies the product types and selection process. Find out how many top-notch facilities made their choices—and why. Learn the lingo, set yourself on the right decision-making path and discover the pitfalls to avoid.

The key to a successful ice rink is keeping it busy. We offer tips on how to design your facility—with both innovative architecture and attractive programming—to attract round-the-clock crowds.

Learn why more pool facilities are turning to bringing the great outdoors inside with enclosure systems. We investigate the ins and outs of enclosing your pool, including the latest techniques and the range of costs, both short and long term. Find out when and if enclosures work for your facility.

Your facility can better serve its community and, at the same time, increase its profit margin by making the most of our society's expanding senior market. Many older adults need qualified exercise supervision along with motivational guidance in order to achieve lasting improvements in physical fitness. They are looking for that instructor or trainer, that facility, and that activity program that will empower them to reach their goals. To capture your share of business from this exploding demographic sector, you need to make sure that your facility sends a very clear and consistent message: "Seniors Welcome Here!"

The popularity of miniature golf has steadily increased over the past decade with millions of families visiting courses every year. While the basic concept of miniature golf remains unchanged since its introduction in the early 1920s, the courses have evolved into unique and interesting variations of the original courses.

One of the challenges facing the fitness industry is to develop products that will sustain over the long run and avoid the stigma of being labeled a fad.

Nearly all locker rooms have similar types of challenges. Water and moisture threaten to "unhinge" many locker rooms, and vandalism is always a problem. More locker space and less maintenance are items on most facility managers' wish lists.

Replacing old lockers is a great way to give facilities an updated appearance, while solving many traditional locker problems and helping to reduce maintenance time and costs.

From October through May, Ocean City, Md., is a quiet seaside town of about 11,000 people. But come summer, it swells into a bustling tourist destination of nearly 350,000 per weekend, making it the second largest city in Maryland by population.

Now, after rebuilding and revitalization, its Boardwalk is a hub of warm-weather activity, attracting 8 million vacationers annually from every state and many countries around the world

What used to be a lone ball field in an economically depressed area of South Miami, Fla., is now the home of the new two-story, 23,000-square-foot South Miami Community Center.