2005 USIndoor Facility Operators’

Conference Report

June 23-26
Chicago, Illinois

USIndoor’s Fifth Annual Conference was a bounce-back event after a small dip in attendence in 2004. Experiencing a healthy 14% increase from the prior year, this year's Conference broke records in facility and exhibitor attendance and drew representatives from six countries: Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico and the United States. The turnout from startups (those in the preliminary stages of getting into the business) also held its own. (See the table below.) Among existing facilities, the average length in business was 6.2 years (median: 4.2). The Itinerary, including a sold-out Facility Bus Tour and social excursions in Downtown Chicago, divided educational learning tracts for existing facilities and startups.

USIndoor thanks especially the Greater Woodfield Sports Council for all of its support in planning and hospitality; its Moderators, each of whom graciously volunteered their time; its Exhibitors, representing the greatest diversity to date; and its generous Sponsors, The Monument Sports Group and the Irving (TX) Convention and Visitors Bureau. With such solid industry support, the Conference has become the annual retreat for owners and operators of indoor soccer and multi-sport facilities throughout North America. (Click for Conference Program.)

Expanding from three days (Friday through Sunday) to four, this year’s event kicked off on a Thursday with a full-day Bus Tour, led by USIndoor Consultant and Tour Director Jim Cline, to five distinct facilities in the Chicagoland area: Odeum Sports & Expo Center, ChiTown Futbol, Libertyville Sports Complex, Regional Sports Center (Kicks) and Schaumburg Sports Center. Including a stop at the Chicago’s famous pizzeria, Gino’s East, the Tour’s 65+ praised the opportunity to see Chicago and to witness living examples of a variety of programming and building designs. A few participants asked whether future Tours could be planned with facilities in closer proximity (to reduce drive time) and questioned the relevance of every facility to their situations. In general, however, Tour attendees appreciated the value of visiting even the multi-million dollar facilities for their uniqueness and creative uses.

Friday featured separate group sessions for existing operators -- “My Two Biggest Mistakes (and how I learned from them)” -- and for startups -- “Intro for Startups” -- followed by the opening of the Conference Trade Show. The sessions successfully “broke the ice” and gave attendees a taste of the sessions to come on Saturday and Sunday. Aside from returning exhibitors in building, flooring, soccer board, software, insurance, financial services and youth program categories, the 2005 Trade Show added showings in the areas of portable mini-fields, apparel & equipment, footwear, vending, interactive sports simulation, consulting, media & marketing, semi-pro soccer, and alternate sport associations.

Saturday and Sunday consisted of more than 20 business roundtable topics – from Customer Relations, to Alternate Uses, Arcades & Vending, Website Management, Special Events, Marketing & Sponsorship, Financing, Insurance, Retailing, Referees and other sessions expressly designed for experienced operators (with at least 4 years experience), newer operators (open within the last few years) and startups – plus the continuation and conclusion of the Trade Show. While notes are available for some of the learning sessions, we are unable to include them here.

Michael Lafferty, Chief Operating Officer of the MISL’s 2005 Champion Milwaukee Wave, and USIndoor’s Director of Marketing, George Gill, also made presentations during general sessions on Saturday. Lafferty talked about USIndoor member facilities’ possibly replicating the Wave’s success in developing a loyal back-office staff and building important community relationships.

Gill formally announced USIndoor’s new relationship with marketing partner, Zoom Media, which, with over 5,000 existing venues and 40,000 billboard locations, will be administering sampling programs and installing and selling advertising boards for all of USIndoor Members. (As of the date of this Report, such installations have already begun in the northeastern, central and southern United States, and over 100 more are planned by 2006. For an overview, click PDF and Press Release.) Additionally, Gill introduced USIndoor’s new relationship with Sporting Essentials and a plan to create local marketing hubs to serve USIndoor members in concentrated geographic regions. The first step in the marketing plan will be to identify qualified candidates in desireable regions. Sporting Essentials is offering free to USIndoor members the opportunity to host on their Websites, and to participate in revenue derived from, virtual proshops. (See Press Release.) To enroll or for more about USIndoor marketing programs, contact USIndoor Director of Marketing George Gill at 312-321-4775 or marketing@usindoor.com.

COMMENTS FROM FEEDBACK FORMS:

Response from attendees was overwhelmingly positive regarding the Conference’s timing (moved up from September), its central location in the midwest, choice of hotel (compared to last year’s soccer facility), itinerary (including social excursions), moderators, format, affordability and Trade Show. Every attendee submitting feedback indicated that he or she would attend another USIndoor conference, citing the significant value of the networking and learning opportunities.

In the aftermath, USIndoor’s new marketing plans, including its relationship announced with Zoom Media, and some experienced operators’ desire for more exclusive sessions, which USIndoor will address, created a lingering buzz. Experienced operators are encouraged to provide additional input for creating an itinery more suited to them by participating in the following 2006 Conference Survey: EXISTING OPERATORS ONLY (open for business prior to January 1, 2000). Other comments from:

Existing Operators

“I enjoyed speaking with other facility owners.”
“The Bus Tour was great.”
“The hotel was a great choice, and lunch buffet on Saturday was a very nice touch.”
“The dinner and Second City outing was very well done. We had a great time!”

Startups

“Superb speakers and great presentations.”
“USIndoor offers ‘the best’ method to acquire knowledge and meet vendors in person and discuss their products.”

Exhibitors

“One of the best conferences I have been to. We generated a lot of excitement (and business) among your members.”
“I was impressed by the attendees’ enthusiasm for all opportunities.”
“The format was great and exhibit time just right.”
The Conference was very well organized and professionaly run.”

Concerning improvement, some respondents suggested that the Conference might look for a hotel closer to a city center, try to condense the schedule a bit and monitor better the cross-over of startups into experienced operators’ sessions. As in years past, USIndoor will build on the positive feedback and make adjustments where appropriate. Modifications to be implemented next year will include consideration of private meetings for experienced operators. Attendees who have not yet had an opportunity to provide feedback may still do so via Email. Input for planning the 2006 Conference is also welcome from those who were unable to attend this year.

2006 AND BEYOND

USIndoor is currently exploring the Dallas area for its 2006 Conference, with tentative dates June 22-25 (Thursday through Sunday). Once settled, USIndoor plans on looking westard for its 2007 destination. Watch for official announcements later in the summer of 2006. The Conference will include a Bus Tour of indoor soccer facilities, as well as entertainment and social options. FACILITIES, PROMOTERS AND CONVENTION BUREAUS MAY APPLY TO HOST USINDOOR’S 2006 OR 2007 CONFERENCE BY SUBMITTING A HOST APPLICATION.

CONCLUSION

Since USIndoor’s founding in 1998 and initiation of programming in late 1999, USIndoor Members can be very proud of our industry achievements:

• Facility membership comprises well over half the indoor soccer industry and continues to climb.
• The USIndoor Network has seen early success in attracting three national and several regional sponsorships. USIndoor’s recent alliance with Zoom Media Corp., representing several million dollars of 3rd-party investment in back-lit advertising boards, positions members even more positively to attract local and national advertisers using signage and sampling;
• Cost-saving programs, particularly in Insurance, have been widely successful;
• GOAL Indoor (USIndoor’s national magazine) enjoys nationwide popularity and continues to expand its circulation, bringing increased recognition and appeal to the sport of indoor soccer;
• The Official Rules of Indoor Soccer, becoming more and more the accepted standard, is in its second printing and represents the core curriculum of USIndoor-certified referees;
• A specialized Referee Training Program, which continues to broaden its outreach, further supports the quality and integrity of the game and includes medical and liability insurance for certified officials; and
• Five successful national conferences (2001-2005) have demonstrated an ability to grow, as well as USIndoor’s eagerness to respond to the needs of its members and the marketplace.

USIndoor’s goals for the remainder of 2005 and into 2006 are to ensure the successful launches of programs involving regional marketing hubs, Zoom Media Corp. and other new Corporate Members (e.g., Visual Sports Systems and Sporting Essentials); to fortify its existing programs (Insurance and Referee Certification); and to continue to explore opportunities to enhance the value of membership. Among other things, USIndoor will be looking at making its 2006 Conference even more beneficial and enjoyable to existing operators, startups and vendors. As always, USIndoor welcomes and encourages input and feedback from its members. Thank you for your commitment to all that USIndoor represents and for your involvement and support where possible.

Respectfully submitted,
Don Shapero
President

United States Indoor Soccer Association
P.O. Box 6569
Arlington, Virginia 22206
703-820-2810
509-357-7096 (Fax)
info@usindoor.com