Feasibility Report

Tucson Jewish Community Center

Team 4
Alex Ayers - Kevin Buchmiller - Michael Leparulo - Sara Rosenberg - Drew Tonda
November 2, 2017
Table of Contents:

Executive Summary..2

Situation3

Research and Analysis. 3

Volunteers..3

Host Families/Houses....4

Venues...5

Similar Events Background...6

Finances.6

Recommendation...7

Response....8

Appendices...9

References11

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Executive Summary

Per your request, we have gathered and compiled information to deliver feasibility ratings for our
research areas of volunteers, venues, and finances along with our recommendation for the
Tucson JCC to host the JCC Maccabi games in the summer of 2020. The JCC Maccabi games as
you know is an Olympic-style multi-sport event for Jewish children aged 13-16. The primary
focus of the Games is to bring the Jewish values to all members of the community. In this report,
we discuss key areas of research pertaining to volunteers, venues, and finances required for the
JCC Maccabi games and an included analysis on similarly scaled events ultimately giving the
event a feasibility score of 7.

The feasibility score for volunteers is broken down by volunteer turnout and community
involvement. In this report, we discuss the different responsibilities involved in each of the levels
of volunteers needed for the Games and some concerns that need to considered. The feasibility
score for volunteers is a 6 due to the many questions that will remain unanswered until the
Games get closer.

The requirement for the 700 potential visiting athletes to stay in Jewish homes during their week
in Tucson is a large concern with respect to feasibility due to many people leaving for vacation.
Through our research, we discovered how past games have dealt with similar issues and develop
plans to better help the Tucson JCC plan for these issues. However, with the homes being a
major unknown until the Games are about a year out this research area received a feasibility
score of 4.

Parks and Recreation along with Visit Tucson can easily provide the necessary venues to host the
2020 JCC Maccabi games at a low cost. However, the issues of spectator seating, safety, and
situational variables must be considered when choosing venue locations. After conducting
secondary research and analyzing the prices we gave venues a feasibility score of 8.

Todd Rockoff mentioned the budget for the 2020 JCC Maccabi games was $500,000 including
In-Kind donations. Visit Tucson provided us with helpful insight to discover the cost of hosting
the JCC Maccabi games. After compiling and analyzing the cost of venues, transportation,
Director of the Maccabi games salary, and food we gave the research area of finances a
feasibility score of 9.

Along with researching the feasibility for the JCC Maccabi games, we compared similar events
hosted in Tucson to understand how they were able to increase volunteer turnout, manage costs,
and community involvement. The feasibility score for our similar events research is a 7.

Our overall feasibility score for the Tucson JCC to host the 2020 JCC Maccabi comes out to an
average of 7. The scores taken into account are volunteers with a 6, host families with 4, venues
with an 8, finances with 9, and comparability to similar events with a 7. There is room for
improvement in each category around the planning that needs to be put into volunteers and host
families. We believe that the Tucson JCC should host the JCC Maccabi games in the summer of
2020 contingent they have the necessary research to deem host families feasible.

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Situation
Per your request, we have gathered and compiled information to deliver feasibility rating for our
research areas of volunteers, venues, and finances along with our recommendation for the
Tucson JCC to host the JCC Maccabi games in the summer of 2020. The JCC Maccabi games
are an Olympic-style multi-sport event for Jewish children aged 13-16. The primary focus of the
Games is to bring the Jewish values to all members of the community. The JCC Maccabi games
contain four days of sporting events, one day of service, social night events, and opening
ceremonies. In this report, we discuss key areas of research pertaining to volunteers, venues, and
finances required for the JCC Maccabi games and an included analysis on similarly scaled events
ultimately giving the event a feasibility score of 7.

Research and Analysis

Volunteers:
Our research area of Volunteers received a feasibility score of
6 due to our analysis of secondary research, and the
stakeholder meetings. Through the Volunteer Focus Groups at
the Tucson JCC, one of their biggest concerns was volunteer
turnout and administrative help with the event.

This concern stems from a large portion of the population that

leaves during the summer. Although this is true, we can
alleviate this issue by informing volunteers a year in advance
of the Games being held. During the Volunteer Focus Group meeting members agreed to stay or
return to Tucson after they were informed of the impact the Games had on past communities. In
accordance with the Volunteer Focus Group, a JCC Leadership Focus Group member said he
believes, we are at a better position now than ever to host this event. Though this information
is helpful for reaching out to volunteers, the volunteers for the JCC Maccabi games remain
questionable until further research is conducted.

To further delve into volunteer feasibility, we have to consider the Tucson community and
establishing the levels of volunteers needed for the JCC Maccabi games. Todd Rockoff
mentioned the types of volunteers needed this event would be volunteers and Volunteers.
This commitment level needed for the capital Volunteers is a large question mark at this stage.
Todd Rockoff described that that Games will need a good number of volunteers to carry out
the many necessary tasks to operate and supervise the games, but a group of around 30
Volunteers that invest a lot more time and serve as a steering committee which involves a
high level of commitment and work are required.

Through our stakeholder meetings at the Tucson JCC, we discovered the tiers of leadership
required to run the Games. The paid positions of the Director of the Maccabi Games and the
assistant director, would be at the top-tier alongside some of the current JCC leadership. They
would work closely with the Steering committee and the Volunteers on fixing organizational
issues to then implement to the volunteers to distribute the workload to carry out routine tasks
more efficiently. One of our objectives in increasing volunteer turnout is to harness the power
of millennials. According to the Millennial Impact Report (2016), around 78% of millennials
volunteered for an organization in the last year. If the Tucson JCC is able to communicate to the

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Tucson community their need for volunteers a year in advance of the Games, we believe that
would dramatically impact volunteer turnout resulting in the feasibility score being closer to an
8.

Host Families/Houses:
Hosting 700 athletes in Jewish households during the summer
of 2020 is a major issue in regards to the feasibility of the
Games resulting in a feasibility score of 4. Todd Rockoff
discussed that they required at least 150 homes. We believe
this is a dangerous underestimate, and would like to move to
a minimum of 225 homes to increase the comfortability for
the athletes as well as the homeowners.

During the Volunteer Focus Group meeting, we discovered each potential host family must be
surveyed to insure they meet various comfort requirements for the athletes. Along with the
survey the host families must align themselves with the message of the JCC Maccabi games and
be able to provide the athletes with the basic necessities during their stay. These necessities
include food, water, sleeping arrangements, electricity, and internet. After this process is
completed, if there is a shortage of host families, a potential solution would be to find an air
mattress sponsor, which would allow families to host more athletes.

We also need to develop plans to prepare for problems faced by previous JCC Maccabi games
where 200 more athletes attended than planned. This resulted in many athletes having to stay in
hotels for the week. Consequently, the experience between athletes at host families and those in
hotel rooms differed dramatically. The teen athletes suffered sleep loss as a result of the lack of
structure which then directly contributed to their motivation throughout the days of the JCC
Maccabi games. The lack of enthusiasm due to sleep loss caused the atmosphere at the Games to
appear tired and sluggish. Todd Rockoff has frequently mentioned if we cant find the housing,
we cant host the games. This is a major issue that needs to be solved in advance of the games.
We believe that sufficient planning needs to be set in place to identify as many host families as
possible well in advance of the games.

We need to work in accordance with the Volunteer Focus Group to advertise, announce, and
gather information to present to potential host families at least a year before the actual games.
This would allow for host families to plan their summer around the games and the Tucson JCC
would avoid putting athletes into hotels. If the Tucson JCC manages to meet this deadline and
notify people a year before the event, this feasibility score could easily become a 7 or 8.

Venues:
Through our research and findings on the venues for the
Tucson Maccabi games, we have come to conclusion that
it will be feasible to obtain the necessary venues for the
games. With the number of needed facilities for the events
within the games, we have confirmed that there will be
enough venues within the city of Tucson, giving this
section of research a feasibility score of 8.

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Parks and Recreation confirmed that they can provide the required number of venues as well as
being able to offer a non-profit rate that is quite negotiable. Outside of the Parks and Recreation
department, the Tucson JCC can contact and utilize the Tucson Unified School District. They are
very open and receptive to non-profit ventures and offer competitive rates to those of the Parks
and Recreation Department.

We received a price chart breaking down each specific venue with a regular rate. Keep in mind
these rates are subject to change and do not include nonprofit or bulk purchase discounts. In
terms of the indoor facilities needed volleyball, basketball, and table tennis, 10 courts are
available costing $60 per hour per gym. Outdoor facilities needed for the sports of baseball,
soccer, football, and lacrosse have 16 fields available costing $80 per field per day. Tennis courts
needed for the games can utilize the venues of Reffkin Tennis Center which has 25 courts
available with varying pricing. For swimming, the Amphitheater Pool can be reserved for $500 a
week. In addition, for golf we can utilize Tucson City Golf which has various prices. There are
numerous venue locations throughout Tucson that provide the Tucson JCC with many
opportunities to find the necessary venues for the 2020 JCC Maccabi games.

Some of the details that still need to be looked at for venues include additional spectator seating,
security, safety, parking, and many situational variables including weather. We believe with
ample opportunities to find the necessary venues at the correct pricing, the Tucson JCC has the
venue feasibility to host the Games. To see a comprehensive breakdown of prices for these
venues, see in Appendix A.

Similar Events Background:

While considering the feasibility of Tucson hosting the
2020 Maccabi Games, our group looked at past events of
similar size that have been hosted in Tucson. These events
include the Soccer Shootout and the Tucson Festival of
Books and were used to gain insight and reference for the
Maccabi Games.

The Tucson Association of Realtors Soccer Shootout is a

yearly soccer tournament that for the past 26 years has aimed to bring together youth athletes
from around the nation to compete and foster a sense of community. This year the Tucson Soccer
shootout will host roughly 5,000 athletes and coaches and estimates a $4.0 million economic
impact on the city of Tucson. Sponsorships for the event include The Tucson Association of
Realtors, WSC Sports, Pizza Hut, My 92.9, Cox, and more. The Tucson JCC could potentially
look toward these organizations for donations and gain local business involvement.

The Tucson Festival of Books is another event of similar size and economic impact when
compared to the JCC Maccabi games. This event looks to bring authors and presenters from
around the world to Tucson to celebrate literature and encourage community involvement. In
2009, the festival was founded and managed to get 800 volunteers for their first event, but in
recent years their events have had over 2,000 volunteers. Volunteers can be recruited through
many different channels such as the Arizona Daily Star, the University of Arizona, the Tucson

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Festival of Books website, and many others. These events help provide insight on how to host
large events which will ultimately help the Tucson JCC host the Games in 2020.

After analyzing the Tucson Soccer Shootout and the Tucson Festival of Books, our team was
able to analyze this information and apply it to our feasibility study. Todd Rockoff stated that he
intends to host roughly 700 visiting athletes for the 2020 Tucson JCC Maccabi games. The
Tucson Soccer Shootout plans to host over seven times that number of athletes in 2018. Youth
sporting events drastically larger than the Maccabi Games have been successfully hosted in
Tucson. This is encouraging to the Tucson JCCs feasibility for hosting the Games. During our
meeting with Visit Tucson they expressed that this event was the right thing to do for the
community and insisted on being involved throughout the whole process.

Sponsorships for the 2020 JCC Maccabi games are going to be necessary to help with costing
and community involvement. Similar events such as the Tucson Soccer Shootout use a
combination of large corporate sponsors and small local businesses. This combination of
sponsors can be easily repeated to help alleviate costs for the JCC Maccabi games.

Volunteer estimates for the 2020 Maccabi Games are currently between 500-1,000 individuals.
This estimate is the same used by the Tucson Book Festival during their first festival in 2009.
They are similar to the Maccabi games in terms of size and were still able to generate over 800
volunteers. Being able to generate this level of volunteers for an opening event improves
provides us with hope that the citizens of Tucson want to be involved. We have to be able to rely
on the Tucson community to give us the necessary volunteers to help host the event. After
analyzing similar events that were able to gain the necessary volunteers and stay in budget we
scored the 2020 JCC Maccabi games a feasibility score of 7.

Finances:
The preliminary budget for the 2020 JCC Maccabi games of
$500,000 including In-Kind donations received a feasibility
score of 9. The preliminary budget we have complied
contains venue costs, Director of the Maccabi games salary,
Assistant Director of the Maccabi games salary security and
safety, transportation, and food.

The stakeholder meetings provided us with helpful

information to create a budget and analyze the preliminary economic impact provided by Visit
Tucson. This information answered many venue and transportation questions. With help from
Parks and Recreation and Visit Tucson we believe that the Tucson JCC will be able to receive
both nonprofit and bulk discounts when booking venues. During the stakeholder meeting with
Visit Tucson they stated that having this event is the right thing to do for the community and they
would recommend it. After our research and analysis, we believe that the Tucson JCC will have
ample opportunities to book venues and transportation at low prices for the Games.

Next, we looked into raising the money to host the Games. Visit Tucson mentioned in their
meetings that there are many opportunities before, during, and after the games to gain

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sponsorships and advertisements. At the JCC Volunteer Focus Group, Michael Hoffman said
The money is a non-issue in our community [...] we can do that. Its going to be all about sweat
equity. Getting the community involved early in the planning stages of the Games is going to be
essential to its success.

The JCC Maccabi games corporate sponsor, Coca Cola, is extremely likely to donate food and
drinks for the athletes just as they have done at past Games.

The Tucson JCC has made it clear they have a security firm and insurance company that they
have used in the past and would most likely use for overnight protection and insurance of the
venues. However, during the day the volunteers will make up a majority of the security.

Visit Tucson provided us with a preliminary economic impact for the 2020 Tucson JCC Maccabi
games. The preliminary economic impact provided by Visit Tucson was about $1.1 million
(Appendix B). This impact during the summer months in Tucson would be very helpful to local
business and the Tucson JCC.

We are giving the Summer Camp program continuation a feasibility of 9. The chief concern of
both the JCC Board and the JCC Staff was in regards to the Summer Camp program that would
be directly affected by the JCC Maccabi Games. At both of these stakeholder meetings, the
groups independently mentioned how the Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA) would be a great
place to hold the camp. The board is willing to work with THA on getting the camp moved and
the staff is more than willing to work at the THA for the two affected weeks. With consideration
of all the above costs, the financial feasibility for the JCC Maccabi games is a 9.

Recommendation

Our overall feasibility score for the Tucson JCC to host the 2020 JCC Maccabi comes out to an
average of 7. The overall feasibility score is the average of volunteers with a 6, host families
with 4, venues with an 8, finances with 9, and comparability to similar events with a 7. There is
room for improvement in each category of feasibly. The Tucson JCC needs to conduct further
research to improve the feasibility scores of host families and volunteers. The next six months in
this process is extremely critical in planning for volunteers, host families, venues, and finances.
We believe that the Tucson JCC should host the JCC Maccabi games in the summer of 2020
contingent upon its ability to provide adequate housing with host families.

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Response

To put on a successful JCC Maccabi games, we would ideally like to see our recommendation
scores increase as we get into the planning period. The first six months of the planning process
are crucial to increase these scores, and the Tucson JCC needs to put a lot of effort into making
sure that potential volunteers and host families are notified and informed so that they can
properly plan their 2020 vacations. We have included a chart in Appendix C for the two
possibilities and likely outcomes that could result from both proper and improper planning. This
chart depicts how the average score will be affected with and without proper planning in the first
six months. We believe that if these volunteer and host family numbers cannot be realized, that
the Tucson JCC should not host the 2020 games. However, if enough volunteers and host
families can be secured, then not only should the Tucson JCC host the 2020 Maccabi Games but
it would be wrong not to. There is heavy interest in hosting the Games from the Tucson JCC
Board and Staff, Visit Tucson, Parks and Recreation, as well as most other pertinent
stakeholders.

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Appendices
Appendix A: Visit Tucson Preliminary EEI for 2020 JCC Maccabi games

Appendix B: Venue Pricing

Parks and
Sports: Rec: Seating: TUSD: Seating: Other: Seating:
Basketball $60/Hour Limited $75/Hour Yes N/A N/A
Baseball $80/Day Yes $10/Hour Yes N/A N/A
$54/2
Bowling N/A N/A N/A N/A Hours Yes
Dance N/A N/A $75/Hour Yes N/A N/A
Golf $80/Day Limited N/A N/A N/A N/A
Lacrosse $80/Day Yes $25/Hour Yes N/A N/A
Soccer $80/Day Limited $25/Hour Yes N/A N/A
Swimming $500/Week Yes N/A N/A N/A N/A
Table
Tennis $80/Day Limited $75/Hour Yes N/A N/A
Pricing
Tennis Varies Yes $5/Hour Limited N/A N/A
Track and
Field N/A N/A $20/Hour Yes N/A N/A
Volleyball $60/Hour Limited $75/Hour Yes N/A N/A

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Appendix C: Six Month Feasibility Plan

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 References

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https://www.jewishtucson.org/community-agencies/

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http://www.tucsonrotary.org/SitePage/about-our-club

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Tucson JCC. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2017, from https://www.tucsonjcc.org/

Tucson Unified School District School Space. (n.d.). Retrieved October 25, 2017, from
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