Recreation facility trends in community centers have fluctuated in years’ past; from simple court sports and lap pools in the 1970s-80s, inclusion of entertainment and group exercise in the 1980s-90s, integrated medical programs and spa services in the 1990s-00s, and custom/personal service and specialties based on demographics in today’s facilities. The types of training people are interested in have also shifted–core (i.e. sit-ups, push-ups, and curl-ups) and strength training (i.e. free-weights and calisthenics) is today’s priority.

Planning efforts typically fail for three main reasons: Lack of leadership, unrealistic timeframe for completion, and/or rushing the planning effort. In order to avoid these pitfalls, I encourage you to follow these five planning steps:

Step 1–Establish goals.

• What do you want to achieve and why? 
• Identify the project's top three priorities.

Step 2–Collect and analyze your facts.

• Think about the options – should you remodel an existing building or does it make more sense to build a new facility? 
• Conduct a facility assessment.
• Know your local competition.
• Identify the facilities strengths and weaknesses, threats or concerns, and current program/activities.
• Analyze annual revenue.
• Research demographic trends.

Step 3–Uncover and test concepts.

• Gain public input with focus groups, stakeholder interviews, resident surveys, and public hearings. 

Step 4–Define your needs.

• Develop a realistic project schedule. 
• Establish a total project budget.

Step 5–Gain approval.

Final thought: Develop improvements that reflect your community.