The Executive Summary of CASE 2-2 SUPREME SPORTS

The purpose of this document is to give a short, precise statement of the subject and key main recommendations of the report. If you could only write two pages about the content of your report, what would it be? This doacument is meant to stand alone giving enough detail to the reader to guide the

implementation of the action plan detailed in the full report.

The form is as follows:

1. Ashort 4/5 line paragraph introducing the key facts and information. This section always ends with the same problem statement/ question that appear in the full report. 2. Astatement of the recommended solution(s) along with its justification and timelines (if

possible) 3. Astep-wise action plan of what needs to be done and why, along with any other limiting or

relevant factors 4. Acontrol and feedback/forward system must a step in the action plan (what to measure, the

measurement tool, the accuracy of measurement needed, how often a measurement should be taken, and the maximum allowable deviation from set-point before corrective action is required). 5. Acontingency plan what to do if the plan needs corrective action. Identify the step in the plan = that would likely be cause of the significant, correction requiring deviation, and detail how the correct should be carried out.

CASE 2-2 SUPREME SPORTS

In June 2016, Guido Pino, the new program director at Supreme Sports-2 (SS2) in Guelph, Ontario, sat at his desk and reviewed the company's performance over the past several months. His review of the financial statements indicated that the company would not break even that year and would fall short of projections by $270,000. Pino contemplated what gone wrong and why this had occurred and what could done to ensure that head office's goals would be met this coming fiscal year.

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In 2013, the number of soccer players throughout Canada had increased by 70 per cent and it continues to be one of the fastest growing sports in North America. The Canadian Soccer Association reported that in 2014 there were over half a million registered soccer players, an increase over previous years, due to the increase in female participation. By comparison, hockey, historically Canada's premier sport, was experiencing declining growth rates.

SUPREME SPORTS

Supreme Sports Inc. had been founded in 2014 as a "recreational company, created to capitalize on the growing demand for indoor soccer facilities." The company had designed an indoor sports facility which consisted of an air-supported dome that enclosed two indoor sports fields. SSI had opened two new indoor sport complexes, the first facility in Ottawa, Ontario, (SS1) in January 2015 and the second in Guelph, Ontario,(SS2), in February of the same year. Both SSI-1 in Ottawa and SSI-2 in Guelph, were primarily designed for soccer, but could be configured to support numerous other indoor sports as well. While SSI's headquarters in Kitchener, Ontario, retained ultimate control over finances and management, the on-site management were responsible for the daily operations and local marketing initiatives.

Soccer in Guelph

As of June 2016, the population of Wellington County, where Guelph is located, was over half a million and was growing every year. Guelph, Ontario was home to over 25,000 soccer players registered with the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA). The OSA was the official governing body for the sport of soccer in Ontario. In this capacity, the OSA, made an implemented any necessary rule changes, scheduled all tournaments for their participants, and provided coaches and referees for the individual leagues. All of the amateur soccer teams registered with the OSA had their games scheduled by the organization.

In order to participate in organized soccer in Guelph, players were required to register with the Wellington County Soccer Association, the local division of the OSA, for a fee of $ 4.25. This fee provided the participants with insurance in the event they were ever injured. Once registered players could join and play for a team of their choice. The team would then decide what position they would play.

SUPREME SPORTS - 2

Supreme Sports 2 was located in the northern section of Guelph, in a commercial and highly industrialized non-urban section near Highway 6 and Woodlawn Ave. The facility was built on 0.8 hectares of land and consisted of an air supported dome that contained two 1,350 square-metre soccer pitches with spectator seating, and batting cages. The playing surface of the soccer pitches was Field Turf, a new innovative product that was designed to prevent injuries that would occur often on artificial turf. Field Turf manufactured in Montreal was used in indoor and outdoor sports facilities around the world. Field Turf looked and felt like grass and the soccer balls rolled and bounced as they would on real grass. The facility, also include a licensed snack bar (subcontracted to a local establishment), four change rooms and a large parking lot.

Because of the intense competition from the local outdoor soccer pitches and the high temperatures inside the dome during the summer months, SS2 was used from mid October until mid May. Fortunately, due some structural problems, the vendor agreed to replace the original dome during the summer of 2016 with an opaque version that reduce temperatures in the summers to roughly 15 degrees below the outside temperature. The facility could also be heated during the winter months.

First Year of Operation - Soccer

Once registered with the OSA, a soccer team could join regular league play at the SS2 facility for a cost of $ 1,500 per season. The various leagues using the SS2 indoor facility included; the men's premier league, designed for above average soccer players, both men's and women's competitive and recreational leagues, the co-ed league, and the youth competitive league. SS2 would assist any registered player find a suitable if he or she did not belong to one already. All teams were limited to a maximum of 18 players, however many consisted of only 12 players. Play began in the middle of October each season and ran at various times during the week with the exception of Saturdays. Teams played a 20 game schedule during the season. SS2 provided OSA certified referees for every game and administered and posted the standing of every team and every league. During the 2015 - 2016 season SS2 operated at 35 per cent capacity with registrations comprised of 35 per cent adults and 65 per cent youth of which there were 65 per cent male participants and 35 per cent female.

In addition to regular league play SS2 operated several other soccer activities (listed below) during the season in an effort to boost revenues.

Youth Recreational

SS2 operated this league for youth aged 6 to 18 years for both the fall and winter seasons. Each team played a 45 minute game on Saturday for 12 weeks. One season (fall and winter) cost $ 185.95 per child per season, this amount included awards, referees, and team jerseys, once registered SS2 ensured that each player was placed on a team that was age appropriate for them. The players registered for the youth recreational league was 750 and was expected to climb to over 1,000 for the 2016 - 2017 fall-winter season.

March Madness

SS2 coordinated and hosted a competitive cash tournament in March of 2016. This tournament drew men's and women's teams from Toronto, Hamilton, London, Kingston, Ottawa and Michigan. This tournament was the largest of its king that Guelph had ever experienced.

Soccer Academy

"The future stars of Canadian soccer are the youth soccer players of today!" this was the slogan for the advertising campaign for Skills-n-Drills, this was SS2's developmental program for youth between the ages of 8 and 15. Skills-n-Drills was an eight week course designed to teach the young players the fundamental soccer techniques. The course began in early February on Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 6:30 and the cost was $88.00 per child.

Other activities

In addition to soccer, the facility's pitches were used one day a week for women's indoor field hockey. This use required no physical changes to the soccer pitches. In addition to the soccer pitches, SS2 also had a batting cage. Batting cage prices were, $40.00 for 60 minutes, $22.00 for 30 minutes, or $10.00 for 40 balls. SS2 also rented out the soccer pitches to baseball teams for practices. The teams were charged $125.00 (plus GST) per hour and for an extra $25.00 they could also have use of the batting cage.

THE COMPETITION

Currently in Guelph there were no indoor facilities comparable to SS2. a local community centre offered indoor soccer on a smaller area covered by hardwood flooring at a cost of $78.00 per hour, and a local golf club offered their indoor area for soccer teams at a cost of $900.00 per season. The golf course facility had astro-turf flooring because it was primarily designed as an indoor driving range. Soccer league play was restricted to three nights a week from 9:30 pm to 11:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday mornings from 7:30 am to 9:30 am due to the fact that other activities are scheduled to use the facilities.

Guelph also has over 40 soccer pitches owned and operated by the city's parks and recreation department. Players pay between $95.00 to $150.00 per season, and due to the rapidly expanding interest in soccer, and the limited amount of available soccer pitches, it was estimated that each team could expect to play a 12 game schedule.

THE FUTURE

Pino definitely had a lot on his mind. He was of the belief that greatest challenge facing SS2was its limited exposure. Guelph was the home to the Homer Watson Memorial Soccer Tournament, which attracted over 160 teams each year. Last year SS2 set up a booth on the grounds at no charge, but due to limited staffing, Pino believed that he would forgo the booth and instead place a $200.00 advertisement in the event's program. Guido wondered what the advertisement should look like and what message should it convey to the readers.

SS2 had tried advertising in the local Guelph newspaper, but the paper folded and the reaction to the ad had only been less than 1 per cent. Pino believed that a television campaign could be more effective. However, at a cost of $5,000 to produce a 30 second commercial plus the cost of running it on the local television channel, Pino wondered how effective this type of advertising would be considering most people had either cable or satellite television. He also considered Billboard advertising, wondering what it would look like and how effective it would be. Alternatively, maybe a promotional campaign would be more appropriate, and if so what would it entail?

Furthermore, since SS2 could provide space for other sports should Pino turn it into a multi-sport facility. The big questions were, what sports could be offered, and when would they be offered? Overall, Pino knew that in order to break even SS2 was required to operate at 70 per cent capacity during the months it was open, but he was unsure how he could achieve public awareness to achieve this goal given his limited advertising and promotional budget.

Pino was considering the fact that he should research more information before he made any decision. Guido did know one thing, something needed to be done differently, and immediately if SS2 was going to be a profitable venture in the year to come.