Recreation Facility Management (Paperback)

Recreation Facility Management, Second Edition With HKPropel Access, is the fundamental text for students and new professionals who will manage a recreational facility. It outlines essential responsibilities and prepares readers to perform the duties of a manager for various types of facilities—ranging from recreation and aquatic centers, playgrounds, and parks to fitness centers, golf courses, and sport complexes—each with its own unique set of goals and challenges.

Recreation Facility Management begins by defining the characteristics and expectations of the profession. It discusses the facility design and development process, including assessing needs, planning, reading blueprints, and securing funding. Topics such as facility resource management, financial issues, and human resources are explored in depth. The text then tackles strategies for utilizing facilities in a safe and efficient manner, addressing safety and security, maintenance, and emergency preparedness and response plans. Finally, a detailed examination of the operation of common types of recreation facilities is offered alongside coverage of national industry standards and guidelines.

Content updates to the second edition include a new chapter on ancillary space design with a focus on sustainability and technology updates as well as accessible design. A chapter was also added to address larger-scale recreational sport events and outdoor facilities. Recreation Facility Management also includes new enhancements to help students apply and retain important information:

• Learning aids, including chapter objectives, review questions, and summary elements, help to facilitate learning.
• Case studies provide real scenarios and related discussion questions to help students better understand the material. Sample answers to the questions are provided in the instructor guide.
• Industry Profile features offer real-world examples from the field.
• Check It Out elements call out special content to help engage readers.
• Online materials include learning activities as well as checklists and forms from the files of actual facility managers.

Recreation Facility Management offers a practical introduction to facility design, management, and maintenance for practicing recreation professionals or future professionals. It arms readers with the knowledge and skills necessary for becoming a successful facility manager in any recreation setting.

Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all print books.

Brent A. Beggs, PhD, serves as director of the School of Kinesiology and Recreation at Illinois State University in Normal, where he previously served as a professor and director of the recreation and park administration program. Beggs has taught courses in facility planning and management for over 20 years and has a wealth of expertise in managing sport, fitness, and aquatic facilities in municipal and collegiate settings.

Beggs is a member of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and NIRSA (formerly National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association). In 2006 and 2008, he was awarded NIRSA’s President’s Award for Outstanding Writing in Recreational Sports Journal.

Richard F. Mull was an assistant professor in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER) at Indiana University in Bloomington from 1972 to 2006. He also served as the director of the Center for Student Leadership Development, director of Indiana University's tennis center and outdoor pool, and special assistant to the dean for the auxiliary unit of the school of HPER. From 1972 to 1992, he served as the director of campus recreational sports at Indiana University (IU). In 2017, he was honored with the Founding Dean’s Medallion by IU School of Public Health officials.

Mull brings the practical experience of over 40 years spent managing recreational sports to his work with students and to his writing of numerous publications and books. His professional contributions to the field led to his receipt of the 1989 Honor Award from the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA). In 1994, he was inducted into the Professional Hall of Fame in the School of Physical Education at West Virginia University.

For more than 35 years, Mull has served as a consultant and advisor in the field of recreational sports. He also served as chairperson of the NIRSA's Professional Development Committee, assistant chairperson of the NIRSA Standards Committee, and vice president of NIRSA. Throughout his career, Mull's special interests have included professional preparation, student development, management, and leadership.

Mick Renneisen served as the deputy mayor of Bloomington, Indiana, from 2016 to 2021 and as the director of the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department from 1996 to 2015. He also served an adjunct instructor at Indiana University, teaching courses in recreation facility management for the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation for more than 10 years. Renneisen currently serves as a consultant in parks and recreation for local government and utility leaders.

Renneisen has more than 35 years of experience in managing and developing a variety of recreation facilities. In 2007, his department received the Gold Medal Award from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). In 2008, he received the W.W. Patty Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University for his outstanding personal and professional achievement. He was responsible for the design and management of the award-winning Twin Lakes Sports Park, which received the Daniel Flaherty Award from Great Lakes Park Training Institute in 1993 and the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Complex of the Year award in 1994.

Michael (Mike) A. Mulvaney, PhD, is a professor at the School of Kinesiology and Recreation at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. His research centers on management issues within public park and recreation agencies. Mulvaney has held the Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) credential since 2007.

Prior to obtaining his PhD, Mulvaney was employed with the Decatur Park District in Decatur, Illinois, in a variety of capacities, including facility management, fitness, programming, and special recreation. Mulvaney’s teaching and research experiences have focused on management and organization of park and recreation agencies, human resource management functions in park and recreation agencies, and planning processes in park and recreation agencies. Mulvaney also has extensive experience in the development and testing of the effectiveness of various modes of instruction and their relationship to student learning of park and recreation concepts. Publications authored include textbooks, journal articles, and technical reports.