Programming Idea for Sports Facilities: Dodgeball Leagues

As you develop your sports facility’s 12-month marketing calendar, you may be looking for more programming options to fill the slow times in your sports facility. If you have an open turf area, consider starting a recreational dodgeball league. Recreational sports such as dodgeball have distinct benefits that traditional competitive sports can’t offer your sports facility.

Benefits of Dodgeball Leagues

Here are the benefits:

• Fun for both adults and kids. You can create leagues for any age group. Adults or singles groups use rec leagues as a way to socialize and stay active. Also, the game is immensely popular with grade school aged kids.
• Great option for off-hours: Since this is a game people are playing for fun with their friends, it’s a great option to fill evening and weekend time slots such as Friday nights that are typically slow.
• Attract new clients: This game isn’t for typical athletes. You’ll be drawing in an entirely new client group. That expands your overall reach and increases awareness of your sports facility in the community.
• Easy setup. The equipment for the game is relatively inexpensive and the rules are simple – just make sure you have a trained referee. Check out the National Amateur Dodgeball Association web site for more information on rules and equipment. You can get official dodgeballs for as little as $12 for 6.

If you’re just getting started, consider hosting a free dodgeball tournament, or one that benefits a local charity, to build up interest and inquiries before charging the players or teams. Fall through spring is the best time to host recreational dodgeball leagues. During the summer, rec players are lured away by sand volleyball courts and other outdoor activities.

Click here for more tips on avoiding a slow season at your sports facility. Give me a call at (513) 791-4940 if you’d like to consult on this issue or other sports facility programming ideas.

About Mike Meszaros:

As a sports facility owner myself, I’m familiar with the ongoing challenges that facility owners face. I also get to talk to other owners every day as the CEO of PPC Communications, which produces an online scheduling software popular with sports facilities across the country. PPC prides itself on providing personal, consultative help to our eSoft Planner scheduling software clients. A broader understanding of the sports facility industry means we can also help them with more than just the technicalities of our software.

That’s where Sports Facility Expert comes in. I started this site to give owners and managers of sports facilities an informational resource that I didn’t see anywhere else on the Internet. This is a place for sharing success stories and best practices, as well as pointing out common problems and opportunities to improve.