Whether you’re running a school, a city parks department, or a housing complex, you may be wondering if there’s any actual value in upgrading your park or playground. After all, maybe you’ve already got some swings, a structure, and a slide. Why would you need to buy even more equipment? Does it make good business sense? In fact, upgrading your playground makes excellent business sense on many levels, from safety concerns to attracting more visitors. Here’s a look at those benefits:
Safety and Risk Management
There was a time when safety was not a huge concern on playgrounds. If you were a child who grew up in the 1980s or earlier, you surely remember burning your skin on metal slides and getting flung from merry-go-rounds. And while an argument can be made that healthy risk is good for kids’ development, too much risk can result in injury and liabilities for the manufacturer and the person responsible for installing the playground. That’s you.
To minimize unhealthy risk to the kids and to you, it makes sense to upgrade your commercial playground equipment. You can install commercial swing sets that don’t crack under pressure or break after just a couple of years. Modern playground equipment is built with both healthy risk in mind and the safety of the kids. So children can push themselves to the limits without danger of causing themselves real harm. This balance just makes good business sense.
Attract New Visitors
If you have or work with kids, you’ve likely heard the enthusiasm and lack thereof when it comes to going to the park. The right park will have kids cheering and chomping at the bit. An old, worn-out, boring playground, in contrast, will have kids moaning in displeasure. They don’t want to go, and when you take them anyway, they want to leave right away. No one has fun at those faded parks and playgrounds, which means you no longer have an attraction worth mentioning.
An upgraded playground is a whole different story. It attracts kids from all over, and parents get excited to take their kids as well. Newer equipment often has cool themes, challenging structures, and fun features like splash pads and musical instruments. The modern playground brings in more bodies, and those bodies stay for longer and have more fun. If the goal is to have a playground where children actually play, it only makes sense to keep it updated.
Increase ROI
One of the most annoying aspects of older playgrounds is that they’ve begun to rust, rot, and mold. They’re often made of materials that are now out of fashion, for good reason. So they’re more difficult to maintain. It may be costing you tons of money just to cover repairs and replacements, and you still might not see a lot of traffic. Once your playground gets a reputation for being outdated, fewer families are likely to invest time and energy in showing up.
However, a new playground is more likely to be designed and constructed with longevity in mind. The materials are more durable and less likely to need repairs and replacements any time soon. Also, if you’re installing a new playground in a community or housing complex, a fancy new structure on a pretty plot of natural land can increase your property values. This makes a new playground an incredible investment.
Foster Community Spirit
One of the saddest shifts in recent decades has been the lack of connection among neighbors and members of the community. More people are stuck in their offices, homes, and cars. By and large, they’re just not getting out to engage with their city at the same rates as in previous generations. Now, you’re likely to see parks and community centers sit empty for hours or days on end.
The best parks and playgrounds bring people in from all over the city and even across the state. When you upgrade your equipment, plant a few more trees and flowers, and install fresh benches and picnic tables, you create a community space. Then, you can organize citywide barbecues, holiday gatherings, or farmers’ markets. And the kids can play on the playground for hours, making new friends, while parents get to know their neighbors and other members of the community. It’s a business model that has infinite ripple effects.
Promote Health and Wellness
Finally, the rise in obesity and poor mental health among children and adults in this country is by now well-known. Two of the greatest contributors to that trend are a lack of movement and social interactions. People just don’t exercise the way they used to, and kids don’t have the same opportunities to run, jump, climb, and play that kids from earlier decades did. This has helped lead to unhealthy weight gain and mental conditions like depression and anxiety.
Perhaps not surprisingly, getting outside, moving more, and spending time with others can have a dramatically positive impact on these outcomes. From a business perspective, it’s in your best interest to promote health and wellness for the people of your school, city, or housing community. You can do this with a fresh, clean park and an upgraded playground. Happy, healthy people help create a positive environment that more people will want to visit.
Upgrading your playground, regardless of the space it will occupy, is almost always going to be a good idea from virtually all angles. You can attract more visitors, help keep the people of your community healthy, and increase your ROI. It might not seem at first glance like a playground can actually improve the financial situation of a housing community, city, or school. But the reality is that kids and parents alike love a great playground. All you have to do is provide it.
