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By Tom
Williams
There
isn’t much more of an unpleasant experience on a cross-country excursion
than a car breakdown in the middle of nowhere. For most of us,
precautionary maintenance – checking the tires, maintaining the oil
levels, and even testing that the DVD player works for the kids – are
all important steps to keep from being stranded; but more importantly,
they’re steps that help minimize the cost of operating the car. Regular
oil changes are much more cost effective than purchasing a new engine.
Stadium Managers: Check
Your Oil
Stadium owners and managers can learn a lesson from preventive car
maintenance. “Every so often, you should take inventory of your
stadium’s condition so that you can prepare for the future,” said Russ
Simons, HOK Sport Venue Event senior principal and director of the
firm’s facility operations and analysis group. “It can be much less
expensive, the potential PR fallout can be mitigated and your customers
will be happier.”
Learning by Example: A Case
Study in Building Maintenance
Sample University Stadium is a 60,000- seat, 25-year-old collegiate
stadium used primarily for collegiate football
 games
and the occasional concert. It has been maintained with only minimal
expense, but it seems safe and the fans don’t complain much. The
decision is made to undertake a significant renovation to improve the
fan experience, which will include upgrades of the sound system,
remodeling the concessions and restrooms, installation of a new LED
ribbon board and installation of new turf.
The school is paying for the renovations out of a
recent giving/donor campaign that generated $5 million and took 18
months to complete. The athletic department is responsible for managing
the project and any overruns are their responsibility.
Now presuming the budget is reasonable and has been
verified through research with product manufacturers, contractors and an
architect, the project starts and demolition commences during the summer
break. During demo, the general contractor discovers the following: the
upper bowl fascia cannot support the weight of the ribbon board, the
original wiring doesn’t meet code, the drywall and insulation behind the
concession stand ice makers has been damaged due to leaks which caused
mold growth, the CMU walls at several restrooms have multiple large
cracks that were hidden by gypsum board soffits and indicate structural
issues and several other “repair” items that were not part of the
original renovation. The sum total of these “repairs” is estimated at
$500,000.
So now the project is one of two things: a $4.5 million
renovation project with $0.5 million of repair work, or it’s a project
with a total cost of $5.5 million, one that’s 10 percent over budget
right out of the gate. Remember, it took the University a year and a
half to raise the money, and the University President insists funds from
other departments will not cover any shortfalls. The athletic department
must decide to scale back a portion of the work or keep the same
portion, but somehow raise the additional funds.
Not only is the budget item an issue, but the timing of
the discovery of these problems now delays the renovation portion as the
renovation is held up while repairs are made. This creates possible
issues with being ready for the next football season. Not only is this
bad publicity, but the economic impact of losing home games could be
significant.
“Do you want to be the one to tell the University
President, faculty, staff and the team supporters that the first several
games of the year might be on the road, and that revenues for the
department will be down significantly?” said Simons.
Stadium Assessments: An
Outsider Look at the Buildings Insides
The goal of a stadium assessment, which can also be tailored for use on
any type of public assembly facility, isn’t to find all the faults with
a stadium; it’s to identify weaknesses that are difficult to spot by
those who are involved in day-to-day operations. When an outside firm
reviews multiple venues each year, they are in the greatest position to
offer suggestions and best practices, knowledge gained from the
culmination of their work.
Assessments typically include components, such as
architecture and interiors, fan amenities, event production, major
systems, structure, technology, codes, and good service and retail.
Depending on the goals of the stadium owner or manager, some or all of
these categories can be reviewed. However, if the goal is to develop a
multi-year plan for maintenance and renovations, having all these
categories benchmarked will provide the owner or manager with the
information necessary to make the best decisions, ones based on facts
and science.
It’s these decisions that put the stadium in the best
position to last until, and with a little luck, beyond its expected
useful life.
fm
Tom Williams is
a facility operations consultant with HOK Sport in Nashville, Tennessee.
He is a former facility manager with 16 years experience in facility
operations and management.
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