Chapter 1

The Leisure Services The Leisure Services EnvironmentEnvironment

C H A P T E R 1

The Difference Between Leisure and Recreation

• Leisure

– Time not working

– Free time

• Recreation

– Time playing

– Pastime

Traditional View of Leisure Services

• Sports

• Games

• Classes

• Special events

• Activities

History of Leisure Services

• London parks

• Paris parks

• New York’s Central Park

• American national parks

• State parks

• Park districts

American Urban Park Movement

• The Central Park Commission was created as a separate governmental unit to avoid the politics of Tammany Hall.

• Frederick Law Olmsted

– First superintendent of the Central Park Commission

– Established landscape architecture as a profession

– Went on to design Yosemite and other national parks

– Came to Chicago and helped establish park districts

Urban Recreation Movement

• Started with YMCA camps and centers

• Followed by other providers such as Hull House and the Boys Clubs

• Remained largely separate from the urban park movement until the 1960s

Commercial Recreation Movement

• Has always existed as the travel, tourism, hospitality, and hotel industry

• Came to fruition in the 1920s

• Has come to make up more than 90 percent of all recreation provided in America

Commercial Leisure Services Sector

• More than 2 million business providers

• 6.5 million jobs

• $88 billion in revenues

• 8.33 percent of the gross domestic product in America

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Commercial Leisure Services Sector (continued)

Includes:

• Hospitality

• Resorts and gaming

• Camping and outdoor recreation

• Travel, tourism, and the cruise industry

• Movies and entertainment

• Professional and amateur sports

Nonprofit Leisure Services

• Nobody knows for sure how many of the 960,000 nonprofit organizations provide leisure services.

• Estimated to be tens of thousands:

– Youth sport programs

– YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs

– Country clubs and member organizations

– Service clubs

Tax-Exempt Status of Nonprofits

• 501(c)(3) organizations: Exist for charitable purposes, such as YMCAs

• Non-501(c)(3) organizations: Exist to serve the members, such as country clubs and sport teams

Federal and State Government Leisure Services Organizations

Federal agencies:

• National recreation areas

• National parks

• National forests

• Waterways

• Wildlife refuges

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Federal and State Government Leisure Services Organizations

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The 50 state agencies:

• State park systems

• Wildlife refuges

• State recreation areas

• Waterways

• Designated hunting areas

County Leisure Services Organizations

• County park departments

• County forest preserve districts

• Regional, multicounty park and recreation districts

• Wildlife refuges

Local Leisure Services Organizations

87,000 local governments:

• Municipal park and recreation departments

• Municipal recreation departments

• Municipal park departments

• Special districts

• School district recreation departments

Managing Leisure Services Organizations in the Three Sectors

• Similarities

– Services are sometimes exactly the same.

– Service skill sets can be similar.

• Differences

– Services are sometimes different.

– Management skill requirements are often different.

Managing Commercial Leisure Services Organizations

• Profit motive: Increases the focus on the customer

• Less transparency: Proprietary financial information

• Marketing approach: Product, price, position, and promotion

Managing Nonprofit Leisure Services Organizations

• Fundraising is a requirement.

• Revenue streams and engines must be developed.

• Managing membership is often important.

• Providing services to those who can’t pay can be required.

• More transparency than business must occur.

Managing Government Leisure Services Organizations

• There is a political dimension to managing.

• Transparency is almost total.

• Employees have more rights.

• Pension protection can be important.

Summary

• The sectors are different in size.

– 2 million private-sector leisure services providers

– Tens of thousands of nonprofit leisure services providers

– 87,000 government leisure services providers

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Summary (continued)

• Different management skill sets are required.

– The ability to make a profit in the private sector

– The ability to raise funds in the nonprofit sector

– The ability to navigate the political process in the public sector