Improving communities through sport

Budgeting for FF&E At Your Sports Facility

ff&e gym equipment in a weight room

Planning an FF&E Budget For a Sports Facility

If you’re considering opening up a sports facility, recreation center, or community center, you will have to do a fair amount of budget planning. Budget planning is always a speculation, regardless of how much research you do ahead of time. Something may happen last-minute that will save you some cash or drive up your costs. But either way, planning allows you to estimate, to the best of your ability, what you can expect to spend. And a good budget planner will be able to anticipate variables in spending more accurately.
When it comes to budgeting for your FF&E, there are many factors in play. You want to maintain a certain aesthetic for your facility, and you want to offer your clientele an experience of your facility that lets them know you care. But sporting facilities, like other hospitality businesses, require a large amount of equipment, resulting in hefty FF&E budgets. Here, SFA offers some advice for creating your FF&E budget.

Initial Estimate

Some sources suggest budgeting by space, meaning that you should budget your FF&E costs by the square footage of your facility. These sources say that, per square foot, you can expect to pay anywhere from $9-$12. Think about the “density” of equipment in each area of your facility. Whereas your reception area may be relatively open, containing some chairs and tables, computers and other electronics, other areas like a weight room or cardio room will have a much greater concentration of equipment. Using an average figure and estimating per square foot can be a reasonable way to build your budget, but some finer details may dramatically skew your costs.

FF&E Reserves

A significant part of budgeting for FF&E hinges on the way that the value of your equipment will decrease over time and what you can expect to make back if you need to liquidate it. So if you have the room in your initial budget for nicer equipment, you won’t have to put as much in your reserves for the first few years because that equipment should hold up pretty well. Generally, however, it’s a good idea to set a bit of your budget aside once you’ve purchased your equipment to have available for repairs or replacements.

Let SFA Help With Your Budget

These are just a few dimensions to consider when budgeting for FF&E. A realistic budget will contain many more variables and considerations. And while you may feel confident handling a budget yourself, getting a second party to alleviate some of the stresses of planning your own facility can help you catch mistakes and give your budget the attention it really needs. To learn more about our services or to speak with one of our professionals, please contact us. We look forward to helping you get your project off the ground!

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