In 2006, Mick and Harriet Amicone, the owners of The Fieldhouse, a Zanesville area sports complex, were considering what to do with an under-utilized roller hockey rink within their facility.A twenty-three year old business venture for the Amicone’s, the Fieldhouse already had tennis courts, multipurpose rooms, cardiovascular and weight rooms, and a women-only fitness center, among other amenities; they were eager to turn the rink into space that would complement the rest of the family-oriented facility.
Over the course of a few months, they weighed a few ideas for the large rink space, and ultimately decided to invest in a swimming pool.The project would be expensive, but, the Amicone’s reasoned, would add to the already impressive array of athletic services the Fieldhouse offered.
Before they could begin work on the pool, the Amicone’s found themselves the recipients of what, in hindsight, was tremendous good luck.Four Integrated MBA students from Ohio University contacted the Amicone’s, offering to provide the Fieldhouse with business consulting services as a part of the University’s 2007 Spring Business Competition.Students in the Integrated MBA program use the skills they learn in a traditional classroom setting and apply them to real life situations and businesses.The program, a unique partnership between the College of Business and the Voinovich School, provides an intensive, business assistance experience offered in very few University’s throughout the nation.
“The students couldn’t have contacted us at a better time,” said Maria Amicone, one of Mick and Harriet’s daughters. “Just as my parents were debating their options, four very talented students came along, offering business acumen to help them make the right decisions.”
The students dedicated themselves to finding the best solution for the rink space, taking into consideration the long history of the Fieldhouse and the Amicone’s vision for building their business in the future.It was important to understand the unique role the Fieldhouse plays in Zanesville.The only family-focused, multi-recreational facility within a fifty-mile radius of the city, the Amicone’s wanted to make sure any addition would build on that record.
Maria believes the collaboration between the students and her parents went so well because the students were always mindful of the Amicone’s wishes.Together, she said, “the group built a strong working relationship, which allowed for a free-flow of good ideas.”
After a thorough review, the business team recommended that the Amicone’s scrap the idea for a pool and instead build two indoor fields.One of the fields would be a real grass turf, reserved for the Fieldhouse’s members.The other field, a multi-purpose grass, known as a speed and sports lab, would be available to train college-bound athletes or for rentals to club teams, birthday parties, and retreats.
The result: a 15,000 square foot, multi-purpose facility, which would allow the facility to continue to provide a unique experience for members, while also welcoming the wider community in for club games and private events.
It didn’t take long for the Amicone’s to warm to the student’s business plan.Nor did their hard work go unnoticed.The students won the 2007 Spring Business Competition, much to the delight of the Amicone family.
“We were thrilled to see the students win the competition, not just because they had worked so hard on the project, but because the Fieldhouse benefitted tremendously,” Maria said.
By the end of the summer of 2007, the rink had been fully converted to the fields laid out in the business plan.In the year it’s been up and running, the facility has already garnered community excitement and become a Fieldhouse mainstay.
Mick Amicone couldn’t be happier with the expertise his family received from Ohio University’s Integrated MBA students.“I was passionately going to plow ahead with my plan for a pool," he said. “They saved me well over $300,000.”
The experience has changed the Amicone’s life in more ways than one.Maria, after watching the big impact the MBA students had on her parent’s business, decided to enroll in Ohio University’s Integrated MBA program.She was intrigued by the way the students applied methods they had learned in the classroom to real world problems, allowing them to find a solution to the Fieldhouse’s needs.Maria will graduate in 2010.
“What the MBA students at the Voinovich School do is tremendous.So many small business owners know their craft, know the product they are trying to sell, but need assistance on how to accomplish that,” Maria said. “The students at the School fill that need, in a really fundamental way.”