During the Fall semester of 2021, students in the Sports Management Consulting senior capstone class at IUPUI were tasked with reimagining the tournacation experience at Grand Park in Westfield, IN. Students set out to understand the needs and challenges faced by visitors at youth sports venues. By employing the Design Thinking framework for creative problem solving, students used empathy and human-centered design to create valuable and innovative ideas.
Follow this link for a quick video overview of our project: Fall ’21 Capstone
Make Creature Comforts Easy to Access on Site
When arriving at a youth sports facility for the weekend or even just a day game, parents are tasked with packing food for the whole family (or even the whole team!) as well as bringing extra chairs, pop-up shades, water, and anything else that might keep them comfortable. With so many things to keep track of and bring to the venue, items often will be left at home. Our students found that many visitors would be in need of an item or an easy meal, but had no way to acquire one at the facility. One group of students set out to address this by imagining a camp store that offers frequently needed items for rent and purchase (tents, wagons, chairs), streamlining the packing process for parents. Another group of students set out to create an entirely new dining experience for youth sports venues by using a sparsely staffed kitchen that specializes in healthy food and automated robots to deliver the food anywhere at the facility. These two creative solutions ultimately seek to fulfill frequently needed and requested items that can be difficult to acquire during a tournament.
Streamline information about the facility and local tourism in one place
Many youth sports venues offer a large number of fields, diamonds, and indoor facilities. For youth sports travelers, learning a new venue and finding their assigned fields can be overwhelming and frustrating. When parents arrive at a venue, their top priority is finding where their child is playing and being there. Paper maps and signage can be helpful, but the maps are often only stored in specific locations that the visitor may be unfamiliar with. Our students set out to ease the process of accessing vital information by creating a one-stop, digital platform. By offering an app with maps, FAQs, and user-specific information, such as their team’s schedule, youth sports facilities can share information instantly with their guests and remove any challenges with learning a new facility. Communication is essential to the success of an event, and youth sports is no different. Local tourism information can also help visitors get the most out of their experience to the destination.
Help Teams and Athletes Showcase their Talents through Video
Film production and review is now an inseparable aspect of competitive sports. The availability of film allows coaches to review the needs of the team for training, can help an athlete study their form and improve technique, and allows friends and family who missed the game to see all the best moments. While the year 2022 may see most Americans carrying a personal device that has recording capabilities, it is far from a solution to acquiring high quality film for the team. Across interviews and observations, our students noticed parents and coaches getting creative to secure a recording of the game at youth sports venues. From Zip-tying a camera to a fence, to elaborate tripod set-ups, youth sports stakeholders have tried it all. One group of students determined that youth sports venues should have the capability to produce film or connect incoming teams with local videographers. This eliminates the extra steps needed by parents and coaches and allows the stakeholders to focus squarely on the game being played, rather than their homemade camera rig. Adopting livestream platforms such as Playsight and Pixellot allow venues to harness the power of artificial intelligence to livestream contests on a user-friendly platform.
Offer Enhanced Amenity Packages that Includes VIP Seating
Anyone who has visited a youth sports facility has likely been greeted by the large metal bleachers that have sat parents and players for decades. These seats are tiered, providing easy lines of sight for all fans, but that is about all these bleachers have to offer. With many travel sports occurring during the summer, these metal seats bake the fans sitting on them and reduce the quality of the experience. One group of students decided to re-invent what a bleacher can look like and accomplish. Based on interviews at Grand Park, these students determined that the most important features for a seating area include shade, comfort, weather protection, wifi capabilities, and space for equipment storage. By modernizing the ancient concept of bleachers, youth sports venues can create an enjoyable and relaxing experience for any guest who comes to their fields.
Create Engaging Experiences for ALL Visitors
The forgotten person in the tournacation experience is the sibling of the athlete competing in the game. By nature of the tournament structure, youth sports families often are faced with downtime while at a facility. At Grand Park, our students observed parents, players, officials, and coaches getting creative with ways to pass the time. Many attendees would wait in their car with the air conditioner on full, others passed the time by fishing (which is not allowed in any of GP’s ponds), and at times, groups of bored children could be found throwing rocks and other objects at each other. While having a massive amount of fields and space in a venue can be valuable, the large amount of space can be challenging to fill, leaving guests unsure of what to do in their downtime. Our students suggest creating spaces around the facility with games, activities, or photo opportunities to foster a more interactive and enjoyable experience for guests. For example, Grand Park has recently been considering adding a ropes course to the already impressive sports campus.
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