Seminole County, Florida, is planning the construction of a major sports complex aimed at attracting youth athletic tournaments. The $27-million complex, designed to stretch over 102 acres, will include a baseball stadium and fields for soccer, lacrosse, football, and softball. The county sits close to Disney World and other large, popular theme parks, and has been looking for a way to increase local tourism. A study conducted by Seminole County suggested that one tournament could draw as many as 1,900 people. According to the study, 17 events in one year could generate about $19 million for the local economy and add more than a dozen jobs. After five years, and with additional tournaments, the income generated locally would rise to…

A grant of more than $2.52 million has been awarded to an assistant professor of kinesiology at Kansas State University, who aims to compare the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with usual Army physical readiness training among active-duty military personnel. The professor, Katie Heinrich, received the grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Her study, she said in a press release from the university, could shed light on the issue of obesity in the military because of the potential HIIT offers for promoting fat loss through increased post-exercise fat metabolism. “A study that looks at the effects of HIIT in comparison with a rigorous exercise program like that of the…

Wilmington College, in Wilmington, Ohio, recently broke ground on an $8.4 million Center for Sport Sciences. A multi-purpose facility featuring medical services for athletes, athletic training areas, classrooms, labs, indoor fields, and batting cages, the 41,000-square-foot complex is expected to begin operating by summer 2015. In addition to its own offerings, the Center for Sport Sciences will include space for satellite offices of Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Drayer Physical Therapy, and Clinton Memorial Hospital. Athletic training and sports management are two of the most popular majors at Wilmington College, where nearly 45 percent of the 1,100 students enrolled at the main campus are involved in intercollegiate athletics. Terry Rupert, vice president for athletics administration, told the Cincinnati Business Courier…

Citizens Business Bank Arena, in Ontario, California, has become the first professional hockey arena in the United States to use recycled water. For the 2014-15 season of the Ontario Reign hockey team, the arena will create its ice rink out of recycled water while also using recycled water for the facility’s cooling towers. The initiative will result in an estimated savings of 5 million gallons of drinking water per year. Citizens Business Bank Arena said in a release that it has taken several steps to cut its yearly water consumption, including installing low-flow faucets and waterless urinals. The news comes at a time when California is in a drought state of emergency, with rivers and reservoirs at record-low levels. Eric…

Technogym, the Italian exercise equipment company, recently announced its appointment as the official equipment supplier at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The upcoming games will mark Technogym’s sixth time as official supplier. The company reportedly will provide equipment for the main Olympic Village in Barra da Tijuca and will equip 15 centres and warm-up areas at competition venues. About 1,000 pieces of Technogym equipment and Technogym's mywellness cloud digital platform will be installed. Technogym also will provide 50 athletic trainers as well as gym layout, installation, and technical service. "We are very proud to have been chosen for the sixth time as the official supplier of the Olympic Games," Nerio Alessandri, president and founder of Technogym, said…

XSport Fitness, a chain of 24-hour fitness facilities based in Big Rock, Illinois, recently announced plans to expand in its three primary markets: Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C. By the end of 2016, XSport will have opened new clubs in Melrose Park, Illinois; the Bronx, New York; and Fort Totten, a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. With a reported $176 million in 2013 revenue, XSport is well poised for expansion. In addition to the new clubs, the company also plans an $8 million renovation for its Belmont-Ashland club in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. “It’s interesting to watch the growth of a club like XSport Fitness,” said Eric Willin, COO of EZFacility, a health club management software developer in Woodbury,…

While athletic facilities with outdoor fields frequently feature turf, and often turf that’s coloured to display team or school spirit, it’s rare to find a baseball field with synthetic turf—especially synthetic turf that’s bright red. But the University of Northwestern Ohio, in Lima, Ohio, has become the first in the nation to sport a red baseball field. The surface will be ready for play in the 2015 fall and spring seasons. “Turf allows us to save not only on maintenance, but travel as well,” said the university’s head coach, Kory Hartman. “It can be difficult to play games this far north in early March.” With the new synthetic field, the team should be in a better position to host early-season…

A new athletic complex is coming to Ladera Ranch, California — right next door to a massive storage facility. Michael Schwartz, owner of Smart Stop Self Storage and Strategic Storage Trust, Inc., has received municipal approval to build a $32.6 million athletic center on a plot of land adjacent to his 100,000-square-foot storage facility. The complex will include a 56,000-square-foot gymnasium with eight basketball and volleyball courts. It will also expand Smart Stop’s operations, with 41,400 square feet of the new building dedicated to storage and 21,000 square feet set aside for Smart Shop’s office headquarters. Built-in features will include cameras on all courts, so that parents or sports scouts can log in remotely to watch games or practices. In…

Woodbury, NY (August 9, 2014) – EZFacility, an industry leader in sports management software, today announced an update to its EZLeagues Scheduling Wizard software. The update enhances and refines the Scheduling Wizard’s capabilities, making it even simpler than before to create a league or tournament schedule. The upgrade focuses on improving functionality and adding a fluid interface. With more clear and concise content, users will find scheduling a league to be even quicker and more precise than ever before. Within the update is a brand new feature added to the Scheduling Wizard, Auto-Save. The addition of the Auto-Save feature gives EZFacility’s clients, for the first time ever, the ability to save their scheduling progress as they work, and the option…

A three-year plan to renovate the student recreation center at the University of Colorado-Boulder is starting to bear fruit, with a new pool now on campus and new tennis courts slated to be operational at the end of July. The pool has been a focal point of the project, as it is uniquely shaped to resemble a charging buffalo, the university’s mascot. In April 2011, more than 70 percent of students at the university voted to increase student fees in support of a $63.5 million recreation center overhaul. In addition to the pool and tennis courts, the overhaul has resulted in a strength and conditioning space double its original size, a much larger group exercise and fitness studio, a new…