Perry Field House is relatively new facility and with that being said there are not many things that the facility needs the improvement on. The facility is organized well and in my opinion people who are running it and operating it are doing well. In our textbook there are some examples that we saw in our tour and I will cover some of those in this reflection.

According to our textbook, all lighting must be flush with the ceiling and also lights should illuminate all portions of the court equally. In both of the biggest rooms in the Field House lights are well spread and they cover all portions equally. However there were some lights in the turf room that were not working properly and that could be one of the bad things that we saw in this facility.

Other things that chapter 10 covers are different types of courts that indoor facility should have and in my opinion Field House is very adjustable when it comes to that. We saw that in both rooms courts can be divided in any given time and also adjusted to many different sports (basketball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, football, etc.)
Other thing that our book talks about is safety and storage of the equipment and that is something that is an area where Field House needs improvement. We saw all different types of the equipment just standing around fields and could cause some problems in future. This equipment needs to be put away into the storage so all the people that are using the facility do not have problems.

I spent a lot of time in this facility do to my spring soccer practices and I really enjoyed playing in it. These small things that are not meeting the standards can be easily fixed which would make Perry Field House even better facility.

For my extra credit I attended the event that was sponsored by College of Musical Arts . The performer was David Guyton and he played drums and cymbals. The event happened on Friday, April 22 2011 at 8:00 p.m. at Cla-Zel Entratainment, 127 N. Main St. in Bowling Green Ohio. This recital is presented in partial fullfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Music in Jazz studies. David Guyton played drums and he was assisted by Keith Barber (guitar), Brian Lang (saxophone), Josh Silver (piano and trumpet) and Greg Wolfram (bass). I enjoyed the program very much even though I do not usually go to those types of events. The program was consisted of six different songs. These are the songs that they performed:

Stablemates – Benny Gordon

Softly As In A Morning Sunrise – Hamerstein/Roomberg

Sidewinder – Lee Morgan

Yes And No – Wayne Shorter

Upper Manhattan Medical Group – Billy Strayhorn

Nutwille – Horace Silver

Reference: Barghchi, Maassoumeh, Dasimah Bt Omar, and Mohd Salleh Aman. “Sports Facilities Development and Urban Generation.” Journal of Social Sciences (15493652) 5.4 (2009): 460-465. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 6 Apr. 2011.

Critique

The article Sports Facilities Development and Urban Generation is an article that closely examines some of the key concepts within the field. According to the authors of the article there are two main issues with building a new sport facility which are their funding and justification of the investment. In the next part of this critique I will evaluate and discuss main concepts of the article.

My first impression of the article was positive. The obvious thing is that the authors put a lot of work with gathering the information from other sources and other authors (just for this article they used over 20 references). The main areas of the article that were used – introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgment and references are clearly stated and served its purpose. In my opinion the introduction is the best organized because it provides the information and all the definitions and explanations that are crucial in understanding what the topic of the article is. For example the authors used the definition of the sports facility in order to distinguish it from the open recreational areas.

In the materials and methods section of the article the main points and elaboration is used properly which gives much more strength to the whole article. For example the authors recognized that most of the literature on sports facilities comes from North America, but however they also recognize that the facility construction in America differs from the rest of the world. Some of the issues that I found in this paper were related to some information that was presented and also general use of references.

In the title and throughout the article authors used a word “Urban Generation”, but they failed to provide the definition which gives certain troubles to readers. In my opinion it is very important to provide this definition because as mentioned before, the phrase was used in many occasions. Also the article in some parts is very hard to understand because the authors used many references that represent different things. Last thing that this article needs to improve is the grammar and spelling errors. In my opinion this is unacceptable especially for scholar article that some students could use for their projects and essays. The example of this is “Sports facilities are provide physical facilities but this hardware without software which is program is not able to have affects”. In order to really gain respect of their readers, the authors need to pain attention to details and not make these simple small errors.

This article is something that can be used for a various types of discussions and projects. It has really strong and developed arguments that bring the whole topic together and help the reader understand and comprehend. On the other side the article needs some improvement. As mentioned in previous part, typing and grammar errors are unacceptable and with changing that the article becomes much better. Also some parts of the article need a better organization and with that I mean better use of references in order to connect facts with ideas. Overall I liked this article and I would recommend it to anyone that is doing a research about Sport Facilities Development or something similar.

These pictures bellow are examples of good restroom and locker facilities. The floors are adaptable to many sports and lockers are built out of new material that does not need as much cleaning as the ones used in the example of the bad facility. Also the new and fresh look is certainly something that can attract people and once they use the facility, they are going to come back again.

This is an example of the new simple locker room that is cost efficient but also gives a newer and better look to the rest of the facility.

Next picture is the locker room of the Bowling Green Soccer team. This locker room has been completely changed in 2009 and it is something that gives both current and future players something to be proud of.

The next picture is the example of how the new restroom should look like. Very future looking and sustainable when it comes to maintenance and cleaning.

Next picture is the example of the old looking and outdated locker room that has couple of disadvantages when compared to ones above. First the flooring is dangerous because people can slip after they shower. Second both the floor and lockers are not easy to maintain and clean. And at the end the overall look is something that is really influential, and this locker room is a negative example.

II)

Here is the list of what you can do in order to ensure that this ancillary facility is a plus for your customers: Keep it clean and in order all the time.

1. Keep it clean and in order all the time.
2. Paint walls in bright and optimistic colors.
3. Make it accessible for people with special needs (ADA)
4. Make sure that you get a feedback from the customers
5. Make sure that your ancillary facility meets the number of your customers (ex. overbooking)
6. Make sure that men’s and women’s facilities are not really close to each other
7. Follow new trends and materials that are used for similar facilities
8. Visit other places and see what the standard is
9. If you are a facility designer you need to make sure that the ancillary facilities are positioned well in the overall facility
10. Have a positive and optimistic staff, because that is something that customers always see first.

The flooring areas at the Ice Arena have been improved but in my opinion still needs to be renewed. As we saw during our tour the surface that is at the beginning does not go all the way around which gives a not sustainable look to the arena. Also different flooring was used in all the locker rooms and in my opinion that surface was much better. The whole notion of the ice arena from outside and inside is that it is old and that is close to its life time. Inside of the arena is sort of dark and the colors of the walls are one of the reasons for this. As the lady that gave us a tour said there is a lot of space for improvement and one of them is the color of the walls that would make the arena much liver.

One of the things that I liked was the conference room at the beginning of the facility. The room looks old but in a good way and one of the good things about it is that it is used for other purposes as well. We spend a lot of time in our class talking about improvements and new materials and trends in facilities and the new lighting system of the ice arena falls in this category. According to our tour guide different types of lighting that can be used for different purposes are one of the biggest improvements that the ice arena made in past couple of years.

My overall impression of the Ice Arena is that it is outdated and old. From a non skater prospective I can say that I would not be interested in coming and using the facility just because of its look, both on the inside and the outside. On the other side I think that the arena meets the needs of BGSU and the community and as long as the facility can fulfill that, there is no need for a change.

Technology as a crucial segment of every industry has also become very important for the field of tourism. Every year technology helps industries to increase their productivity, to enhance their services and make life much easier for both people who work within the field and also the customers. In the next segment we will look at some ways that technology benefits and draws back the field of tourism, leisure and event planning.

Benefits:

1)      Data Gathering: The new technology and software help with keeping track of the information of both employees and customers (name, address, telephone number, date of birth, etc.)

2)      Research: Potential travelers and customers can easily research the area, destinations, driving directions, flight availability, etc.

Drawbacks:

1)      Tourism Agencies getting outdated: With the online booking and buying tickets, the agencies are losing their position and popularity on the field which could result in a lot of people losing jobs.

2)      Dependency on the technology: People that are using new software and machines highly depend on them and in case of breaking or losing power they do not have another solution.

In the next part we will discuss a software package/product that helps people in the field of tourism be more efficient and productive.

Among many packages/products that I found on the internet, I chose ViaTour because I think that this software is really helpful. Here is the list of strengths and weaknesses that in my opinion this software package has:

The strengths of this package are:

1)      All the information that you need is at the same place and you do not really have to switch screens and look for things. The main page is divided into three parts  travelers, tours and vendors (businesses) and it is really easy to navigate.

2)      Rooming and inventory: ViaTour   functionality tracks all the necessary room details, as well as current inventory (occupied vs. available.)

3)      Air travel and transfers: With ViaTour you can create, organize, and track any number of group flights and transfers. You can also divide group flights or sets of flights into journeys (for instance, for main tour, pre-tour or post tour groupings).

4)      Creating Budget: This software allows you to compare your budget to your actual income and expense and also do the forecast for the future projects.

5)      File Linking: You can link any document (Word, Excel, PDF, JPEG) with your records in ViaTour.

6)      Calculating Commission: You can calculate commissions earned to date on a tour by either overall participation, per person counts based on user-defined thresholds, or percent of retail value sold.

The only weakness that I could notice is not up to date look of the software. In my opinion all the new software needs to look new which automatically means more professional (i.e. Microsoft Office 2007.)

Following is the link where you can get more information about the ViaTour.

http://www.viatoursoftware.com/index.php

1)      The buttons that automatically open the door – We can find these on almost every building on campus.

2)      Braille – in front of doors, restrooms, elevators…

3)      Ramps that help access the building – the best example for that is the Founders Quadrangle.

4)      Student Recreational Center has an elevator that is specifically designed for people with disabilities to make the facility accessible to them.

5)      Pool access at the Student Recreational Center – Andrew’s pool is specifically accessible to people with disabilities.  Andrews’s pool has stairs similar to these showed bellow.

6)      Motion sensors that help blind people. Mostly found at the Student Union.

7)      Special chairs in the showers at the Student Recreational Center.

8)      Larger elevators in Kreicher and Harshman dorm buildings.

9)      Bigger more accessible classrooms.

10)   Technology building entrance – it is really easy for people with disabilities to access the building.

Some negative examples about our campus are:

1)      Eppler Complex floors are not leveled and that can cause problems for people with disabilities.

2)      Small number of dorm rooms that can accommodate a people with disabilities.

3)      Fountains at the Eppler complex are too low.

4)      Anderson arena has a bad accessibility for people with disabilities. It is impossible for them to get higher in the bleachers.

5)      Same example for the Doyt Football field – also no access to the press box.

6)      South hall office – no access for ADA people and too steep stairs.

7)      Vending machine buttons are too high at the Eppler Center.

8)      Fraternity houses have no access for people with disabilities.

9)      University Hall – in front of the men’s restroom the Braille is not real, it is printed.

10)   Elevators too small in Founders Quadrangle.

Being a capital planner and building designer is a very respectful but also responsible job, especially if you work for a University. From the presentation I learned many things, following are some of the most important ones.  Recognition: After the project is done, they are the ones that are going to be recognized which is a great reward after all the work they put in. We can say that they put their personal stamp on the building forever. Paycheck: They are getting paid a good salary for what they do, which could also be considered as a reward. Career Development: Reward being at the position that they are right now and participating in big projects helps them to develop their careers.

Some of the challenges that Mr. Waddle and his colleges face on their job are: Responsibility: From the presentation that Mr. Waddle and his colleges gave to our class it was obvious that their job is highly responsible. Being responsible for taking over a project like Wolf center is something that keeps them concentrated and working hard to accomplish all the goals set at the beginning. Communication: From their presentation I learned that they have to communicate with a lot of different people and that can be a big challenge sometimes. Also one more thing that I got out of the presentation is that funding and budgeting are crucial for every project you do on this job. Mr. Waddle talked about the difference between two projects, Wolf center and Stroh center where one of them (Wolf Center) is funded by the state which makes it much more complicated and harder for them to deal with.

The other part of this reflection is about our University’s  progress in capital planning and also how it is compared to other educational institutions throughout the country. Bowling Green has started couple of big projects in order to shake up a little bit and attract new students. There are three major projects that are under construction which are – Wolf Center, Stroh Center and new dorms that are built on campus. These new buildings will give a new, better and improved look to Bowling Green State University’s campus and we all hope that the money spent (around $70 million for Stroh and Wolf Center only) will be worth it.

The first article that I found is about Buffalo State University and its capital planning projects on campus. According to the article, Buffalo State University’s capital projects will result in nearly $350 million spent for new projects and renovations. Major projects are: new student housing, student union quad, science and mathematics complex and technology building. Comparing these projects to Bowling Green we can say that they are investing more funds into their projects.  The link for the article is provided bellow.

http://wwwu.buffalostate.edu/tour/construction/

One more interesting article that I found and that I think is similar to our university is about Duquesne University building a new residence hall on campus. Their reason is also growing on-campus housing needs. Also as Mr. Waddle was talking about the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Duquesne University new building will be constructed to earn this type of certificate. The link for the article: http://newsroom.duq.edu/2010/03/10/new-residence-hall/

Objectives:

Classes: One of the primary purposes of the Eppler Complex is to supply as many good and functional classrooms for students. The building right now has many small classrooms, it could use bigger and more comfortable ones.

Sport and Recreation area: This building has multiple areas for sport and recreation but they are not used to its full capacity. Slight changes for example new equipment and renovation could bring more attention for students and sport teams on campus.

Conference meeting space:  The Eppler Complex is a building where mostly athletic trainers, tourism and event planning and sport management majors are located and it needs to be able to accommodate some sort of conference/group/team meeting space.

Basic Assumptions:

Building’s navigation: Building needs to be renovated in order to make students life easier when searching for the classrooms, meeting rooms and gyms. The system that the building has right now does not work because a lot of students are complaining that is too confusing.

Outside look: The building looks really old from the outside. The renovation of the exterior could help increase the attractiveness to potential new students. The following link gives a brief history of the building which shows us that the renovation is needed.

http://www.bgsu.edu/colleges/library/cac/uarchives/uatour/page49837.html

Not used enough: Locker rooms and all the gyms are not used to its full potential. Locker rooms are not close to the gyms and the change could attract more people to use them.

Factors affecting planning:

Budget: Bowling Green State University is building a lot this semester so the funds for possible renovation of the Eppler Complex could be an issue.

Inconvenience: Eppler Complex accommodates a lot of students and holds many classes so the renovation could cause some issues with that. Construction would cause inconvenience because the building is basically positioned right in the center of the campus.

Environmental necessities:

Go Green: The building this old when renovated needs to turn into more energy efficient facility. One of the things that could be introduced is more usage of the natural light. The link bellow shows us what are some of key benefits of using natural lighting in new facilities.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061114194440.htm

Equipment and Furnishings:

New Furniture: The new space that would be built needs new furniture.

The program statement is crucial in every construction project. First the statement and all its elements put everybody that is involved on the same page. Second it is of huge importance to predict all the things that could and may go wrong which helps management to work it along the way.