Improving communities through sport

Industry

Government Services

Founded in 2003, The SF Companies are a strategic partner to the International City Managers Association, founding members of the Aspen Institute Project Play 2020, and advisors to national, state, and local governments around the world.

Our financial and economic impact forecasting tools, design, development, operations, public engagement, and funding support services have produced national stadiums, tournament and sports tourism venues, events centers, parks, action sports centers, and community recreation centers of every type. We offer services related to planning, design, funding, sponsorships, development, and operations to public sector clients at every level.

How We Help

Tournament and Event Venues

No other firm has produced the number and quality of travel sports and tournament facilities as the SF Companies. Since 2003, we have planned, produced, and operated facilities on behalf of more than 2,000 communities. The SFM Network is the largest single network of sports tourism facilities in the U.S., producing more than $250 million in overnight hotel stays and hundreds of events annually. The SFM Network is the crown jewel of the sports tourism industry with venues in Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg, Panama City, Sandusky, Tampa Bay, Branson, and more. As an SFM Network facility, your venue can take advantage of our volume events booking, sponsorship, staffing, and turnkey services.

Economic Development

When properly planned, funded, and operated, sports destinations are powerful catalysts to additional development including hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. From downtown revitalization and ancillary development to jobs creation initiatives, our firms have overseen the launch and operations of many of today’s most notable destinations. Additionally, the sports tourism travel segment remains among the fastest growing and recession-resistant in the travel market.

Large-Scale Mixed-Use Developments

Centered around sports attractions, these developments employ our municipal finance specialists, sports tourism and sports impact calculators, economic impact forecasting, access to SFM Network venue performance data, and the turnkey and long-term partner solutions that separate us from any other firm in the industry.

Parks and Recreation Impact Calculators

The SF Companies are providing the innovative solutions that will impact parks and recreation spending for decades to come. Our groundbreaking work in producing the Parks Impact Calculators employed by every park in Florida and California, among many other communities, allows state and local agencies to assess and communicate the value of individual parks and entire systems.

Parks and Recreation Master Planning

Modern parks systems can be economic engines contributing to residential home values, commercial real estate, measurable health outcomes, non-local tourism, and community engagement. The SF Companies approach master planning with these and other outcomes in mind, focusing our efforts on identifying the most meaningful developments, improvements, and operational changes to achieve uncommon outcomes.

The SF Companies are a leading voice in the effort to improve access to sport and recreation for families across the U.S. and have produced more community based sports tourism and recreation projects than any other firm.

Our areas of focus include:

  •  Tournament and Events Venues
  •  Community Recreation Centers
  •  Mixed Use Developments
  •  Economic Development Initiatives
  •  Parks and Recreation Master Planning
  •  Parks and Recreation Calculators

Featured Projects

Springfield, OR

Carrying forward a 2018 SFA study serving Travel Lane County, SFA was re-engaged by the Willamalane Park & Recreation District to produce a detailed financial forecast and economic impact analysis for a revised version of an indoor track and court facility that would expand Parks and Recreation programming, meet the community’s need for track and court-based activities, and generate new spending in Springfield and around Lane County. SFA’s analysis and recommendations are being used to determine ownership, governance structure, the business and operations plan, and funding mechanisms for the complex.

Eau Claire, WI

During the planning and design process, SFM worked as an “Owner’s Representative” in partnership with the design and construction teams to ensure the facility design supports the Pro Forma. This included critical adjacencies, space planning, and operational details. The SFM venue design team ensured the athletic spaces and equipment meet the requirements for leagues, tournaments, events, and other supporting programming through our FF&E (Furnishings, Fixture & Equipment) procurement process.

Schenectady, NY

The plan for this best-in-class competitive natatorium includes a 50-meter competition pool, a diving well, a warm-up pool, and a leisure pool that will improve aquatics-based competition options for participants in USA Swimming, National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Federation International de Natation Amateur (FINA), USA Water Polo, USA Diving, USA Synchronized Swimming, USA Masters Swimming, The YMCA, and more. SFA worked with strategic partner Counsilman-Hunsaker to support concept development and operational projections, with SFA’s primary areas of focus being on economic impact and funding options.

Featured Team Leader

Founding Partner

Dev Pathik is widely regarded as a premier thought leader in the youth and amateur sports space. Through his work with the Aspen Institute’s Project Play 2020, relationships with various national governing bodies, the International City and County Managers Association, HBO’s Real Sports, TODAY Show, and others, Dev has given a unique voice to the development boom of youth sports, the social and economic responsibilities inherent in these projects, and broadened the opportunity for creating successful mixed-use developments with youth sports anchors. To learn more about Dev and the other members of our outstanding team, visit our team page.

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