Dreaming of a fun, fast-paced job that involves being around sports all day, every day? If so, consider becoming a head honcho at a sports facility, which could be as small as your local ice rink or, once you get enough experience and contacts, as large as the Rangers' Global Life Park. To excel in this field, you'll need strong business and management skills, and facility managers will tell you that every day brings new and unexpected challenges. You'll be involved with all duties related to your arena, such as scheduling games, managing employees, directing construction and repairs, and overseeing the budget. A sports facility manager also needs to plan for emergencies and be able to keep cool when something does go wrong, like a power outage during a packed basketball game. And if you're hoping for a 9-to-5 job, don't even think of going into this field: These managers are often busiest during evenings and weekends, when events are happening.
The Details
Sports facility managers help keep large events safe and well-organized. A successful arena also helps bring more money into the local economy.
One of the earliest and most famous uses of synthetic stadium grass was at the Houston Astrodome during the 1960s—because of this, it was renamed "AstroTurf."