ADVENTURE CHALLENGE AND ROPES COURSE COSTS OVERVIEW

When considering building a challenge course–whether it is a set of portable initiative elements or a multi-element high ropes course–or adding to an old course, it is important to look at all the costs as they relate to your business plan and not just what will work into your specific budget. In some cases, organizations will find that their needs are best met by utilizing off-site courses and providers or by developing a program over several years. Other organizations will find that by spending a little more, they will receive a better return on investment. Upon anaylsis, many providers find that what is needed is not additional elements but consulting on curriculum or additional training to make better use of the course they currently own.

When choosing to make upgrades or to invest in new installation, it is important to consider all of the costs involved with operating a challenge course.

Some costs to consider are provided below.

Short Term Costs

Long Term Costs
  • Design and planning fees
  • Arboreal fees for courses built in trees
  • Challenge course construction and installation
  • Grounds maintenance and improvements
  • Challenge course equipment and hardware
  • Facility costs--equipment storage, grounds development, woodchips
  • Facilitator and staff training fees
  • Indirect expenses
  • Consultation fees--insurance provider, lawyer
  • Course and project approval--especially for schools
  • Adventure challenge program development
  • Staffing and wages--it will be vital to have at least one person to oversee the maintenance and long-term use of the course
  • Program overhead
  • Training and staff development--for some programs this may be a cost incurred annually; larger programs will incur costs more regularly
  • Annual course inspection by a professional builder--some programs may require more frequent inspections
  • Maintenance and upkeep
  • Equipment and hardware replacement--an amortization schedule is recommended
  • Program development
  • Liability Insurance
  • Marketing

The most frequent pitfall we have seen programs fall into is utilizing more than 50% of their intiial budget toward the construction of the course. In some cases, this has escalated to numbers as high as 95%, resulting in a beautiful course that could not be staffed or marketed due to a lack of operating capital.

Future challenge course pogrammers take heed: The cost of developing and administering an adventure challenge program is considerably greater than the cost of the course itself. The most successful programs approach the construction of the course with a well thought out business plan or an integrated curriculum. Failure to develop a comprehensive plan or to shortcut corners frequently results in unmet expectations, increased risks to participants and staff, and failed programs.

We recommend that those developing adventure challenge programs view group initiative elements, high ropes course elements, and other challenge course obstacles as learning tools. Much like textbooks, challenge courses are only a small part of the overall cost of delivering a challenge course training/program. Successful challenge course programs will need to include the cost of curriculum design, the allocation of training resources and personnel, and the salary of a full or part-time course manager. Additional funds will need to be either raised or diverted to cover the cost of training, professional development, office or work space, office overhead, work tools, capital goods, marketing, program assessment, and program delivery.

 

For more information on our challenge course consulting and development services, please call
(248) 481-2568 or visit us on the web at our main site, http://www.adventuresmithinc.com.