Sport Facilities VII

BSM 4001, Sport Facilities 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

7. Examine ways to create facilities that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Reading Assignment Chapter 13: Legal Responsibilities Human Kinetics. (n.d.) Chapter 13 [Video file]. Retrieved from

http://videos.humankinetics.com/services/player/bcpid4169931216001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAA0gHQG- E~,UzAFL1pLzn7yCq-NH46do3xeufOqP5tg

Click here to access the transcript for Video 13.1.

Unit Lesson This unit looks at the legal responsibilities of a facility manager. As stated in the Unit V lesson, a sport facility can be a very dangerous place, so having safety precautions in place is paramount in protecting the facility from legal concerns. The very nature of sports competitions in a venue lends itself to possible exposure to liability for injuries incurred, as chance accidents are always possible. Another aspect brought up in past lessons is the importance of having a plan. Any sport manager should have risk of legal exposure in mind, especially considering how litigious our country is today. That is why managing risk is so important. Unit VIII will look more at security plans. The preparation of a facility manager by gaining an understanding of legal planning, understanding contracts and contractual agreements, and understanding property law, statutory law, and other governmental guidelines can mitigate many issues. In the textbook, you will look at myriad legal concerns for the sport facility manager, such as negligence, risk management, contract law, Constitutional law, and important Federal statutes like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Fried (2015) uses an excellent sample of a facility concession contract in the chapter to help each student have a better understanding of legal language in contracts. Most people who have been heavily involved in sport have seen their fair share of injuries and freak accidents. One recent example of a freak accident in a facility was the broken leg suffered by USA National Team member and NBA All-Star Paul George during an exhibition game in Las Vegas. He went to block a shot and did not have enough flooring to land on; his leg became entangled in the stanchion. This could have been avoided with proper planning on the part of both the facility and USA Basketball. However, as stated earlier, even if the facility is safe, injuries occur. This can lead to possible lawsuits by the injured party to recover losses. Your assignment looks at a very important statute, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). One ADA case that changed a sport for the better was the Casey Martin case. Martin was a professional golfer with a disability who wanted to use a cart instead of walking the course because of the pain that walking 18 holes caused him. He won the case and changed PGA policy. How does this relate to sport facilities? All facilities

UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE

Legal Responsibilities

BSM 4001, Sport Facilities 2

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must comply with the legislation, so it is important to begin in the design process of building the new facility. Golf courses are no exception. One of the current areas of concern pertaining to ADA and sport facility management is that of education. As Pate and Waller (2012) found, “facility managers may be knowledgeable of specific ADA requirements but may not have a firm grasp on more general issues patrons with physical disabilities face and that have often been the point of contention in the courts such as parking, entranceways, seating, and sightlines” (p. 2). They also found that some athletic facility managers may not be seeking to expand their education on ADA-related matters. That is why learning about laws that pertain to facilities is very important in this sport management program. One area that has become an issue lately in sport is breach of contract. Sadly, many coaches have started jumping from job to job. This also occurs in facility rentals. Every sport facility manager will deal with a broken contract. That is why it is important to have a good understanding of legal principles as a sport management professional. One other important legislation is the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA). This was created by Congress to ensure working conditions that are safe for all employees by providing training and enforcing standards. Please see the example of how OSHA standards were used in the renovation of Lambeau Field, the home of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, on page 340 in the textbook. Constitutional law is also discussed in this unit, particularly the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. These are very important for the sport facility manager. The First Amendment is concerned with freedom of speech, religion, and free exercise of religion, all of which may cause issues for any sport facility manager. The Fourteenth Amendment looks at due process and equal protection under the law. By the way, one thing that is important to understand is that Constitutional law usually is not applicable to professional sports because of the use of collective bargaining agreements and the fact that professional sports leagues are not state actors, but are private entities. This is very important to understand, especially if you climb the ladder to become a sport facility manager for a professional team. Torts and negligence are also examined in this unit. Sadly, as stated earlier, we live in a litigious society where lawsuits are very common. The understanding of these two most frequently seen legal issues in a facility is critical. One of the most important things for any sport facility manager to do is to have effective documentation and record keeping, as this can be of considerable value in preparing a successful defense against claims of negligence. Property law, which includes the principle of eminent domain, is examined in this unit. You may recall the story from the Unit III Lesson about the construction of Dodger Stadium and the use of eminent domain to relocate citizens to build the stadium. There is a great deal of information out on the Internet about this, which was a very shameful event in sport facility history. Consequently, facility risk management may seem to be a losing battle in that no matter what managers may do, they will always have some legal exposure. Nonetheless, by engaging in solid legal planning, analyzing contracts, learning about property and constitutional law, and following government regulations, facility managers can dramatically reduce the potential for being sued or penalized. Prior to completing the reading assignments for the Unit, please watch this video from Columbia Southern University faculty member, Dr. Tim Rice. The video addresses the unit’s assignments and provides additional information pertinent to the unit. Click here to watch the Unit VII video, or you may navigate to: Rice, T. (2015, Oct. 22) Unit VII Sport Facilities Overview [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS97IpC8hsU To turn on closed captioning in the video, click the captions icon at the bottom of the video.

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Click here to access a transcript of the Unit VII video.

References Fried, G. (2015). Managing sport facilities (3rd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Pate, J. R., & Waller, S. N. (2012). Measuring athletic facility managers' knowledge of access and the

Americans With Disabilities Act: A pilot study. International Journal of Sport Management, Recreation & Tourism, 9, 1-22.

Suggested Reading To learn more about risk management, watch this video of an interview with a facilities security professional. This interview was conducted by Professor Tim Rice, and it will allow you to learn about risk management from an industry expert. Rice, T. (2015, April 2). Discussion with James DeMeo, Sport brand protection through sport security [Video

file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Vfzy7gIq0