HPR 475 - Management of Sport & Recreation
             Semester Project Proposal - Homework 1
             The Springfield Statesmen Hockey Organization will play in the North American Junior Hockey League (NAJHL). The NAJHL is a Division A junior hockey league, which is the highest level of junior hockey, consisting of eight teams located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States. The league is comprised predominantly of players 16 -20 years old. Each team in the league plays a twenty- game schedule. In addition, league members play in a mid-season all-star game and in a league tournament that culminates the season by declaring a league champion. The team will play its home games in the Ice Palace, leased from the City of Springfield. The Ice Palace has a maximum capacity of 3,000 people. It includes four locker rooms, eight restroom facilities, an arcade room, an athletic training facility, a weight room, and a large room available for private functions.
             The City of Springfield, which hosts the team, has a population of 110,000; plus an additional 559,000 within a 60-mile radius. The largest age group for both men and women is 35-44. The city's government is a municipality with a mayor and 10 aldermen that represent an area of the city. Springfield is the state capital of Illinois and therefore houses many of the state's agencies. Its economic base depends upon state and federal agencies, three major hospitals, three colleges, and two state universities (University of Illinois at Springfield and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine). The cost of living in Springfield has an index of 97.4; the national average is an index of 100. Thirty-five percent of the households in Springfield earn between $25,000 and $49,000. The three main industries providing employment are the public sector, services, and retail trade. Springfield has an unemployment rate of 5.4%.
             Thirty-three percent of Springfieldians have a high school diploma and fourteen...