How To Plan for the Range
So how can a retailer begin the planning process? Williams explained that it took about five months from start to finish to get everything ready for regular use. Here are the elements that Williams said went into the planning process.
1. Separate the retail area from the 24-hour access range.
2. Ensure there is entry and egress in a safe place with lighted access.
3. Make sure bathrooms, setup/teardown areas and other facilities are accessible.
4. Add security cameras.
5. Make sure the area is safe, that archers are unlikely to damage neighboring businesses; e.g., shooting through the wall above the bales, when a staff member is not present.
6. Draw up membership agreements that govern the use of the space.
“We had a few hiccups, but our landlord was generous in lending expertise and contacts to help accelerate construction and permitting issues,” Williams said.
How To Design the Space
To make the 24-hour access area, you’ll need extra space. Analyze your shop and see where you can add on extra square footage, or areas where you can split existing square footage. “Luckily for us in 2019, the business next door had recently closed, and an approximate 5,000-square-foot space with an outside access door became available,” Williams said. “This allowed us to install a large 20-by-14-foot opening from our main area to the new segregated area. The main area is where the original 38 shooting lanes are. The new area has 18 shooting lanes. We use a barn-door-style sliding door to open or close the main area from the annex, both allowing secured segregation between the spaces, but (also) the ability to open the space and make a larger facility. The new space is perpendicular to our existing range areas, and because of that we can stretch out for longer shooting, up to 50 yards, when hosting 3D events or for indoor sight-in.”
Reach out to other businesses in your area for extra materials. You might be surprised how willing they are to help. “We contacted several industrial sites around town and found that one of them had quite a bit of damaged conveyor belt slated to be discarded,” Williams said. “They donated the conveyor belt to us and we use it as a backstop behind and above the bales to prevent damage to the walls and businesses behind the space.”
Williams had a customer in the floor tool rental business help him refinish the floor and a customer who is an electrician reconfigure the electric wiring. He offered them a free membership to the range in appreciation. “[The electrician] also added a movement sensor light to the access door and hallway for the 24-hour area, making sure that anyone approaching the area had adequate lighting.”
How To Add Security Measures
Williams installed an off-the-shelf network camera security system that provides coverage around the facility, including the back stock area, work area, and storage areas. It offers multiple angles of the range and pro shop. “Anyone who has access to the 24-hour area is known to us, checks in with their key, and is monitored with video,” Williams said.
Configuring the Access System
Williams tried to build his own access system at the beginning and while he had some success with prototypes, he eventually had to switch to an off-the-shelf-system commonly used by gyms. “The system uses RFID tags to identify members and allow access to the secured area,” Williams said. “When granted, an electronic lock is released and the door can open. I had to supply the electronic lock and cabling to connect it. Everything else — readers, key tags, local hardware device — is part of the hardware solution. Once installed the system has required very little maintenance.”
The system also manages the recurring billing and dunnings, an automated payment collection process that notifies the customer when a payment fails, for the shop. Williams notes that it’s a cloud service that is quite affordable for their range. “We were able to leverage this system for all of our membership management, not just 24 hours, including open-hours memberships and punch passes,” Williams said. “This system also can manage classes and lessons, but we currently use a different software to handle lessons bookings. I was able to install the system myself using mostly cat-6 cable and standard off-the-shelf components.”