Thunder Bay Chill
Soccer club & indoor turf facility operator · Thunder Bay, Northern Ontario
You've got published PLEXII rental rates but booking is still 'email us and prepay in advance' - for a club running a USL2 team and two facilities, an online booking and payment system for turf rental alone could pay for itself in staff time saved.
Why they need it
Thunder Bay Chill operates a real facility rental business on top of its soccer programming - PLEXII turf rental has published hourly rates ($190/hr prime time) - but booking is entirely manual: renters email [email protected] (or a different contact for May-September), and payment must be arranged in advance before a booking is even confirmed. Club gear works the same way, a PDF catalogue with an emailed order form. Build an online booking and payment system for turf rental (live calendar, instant confirmation, online prepayment) and a simple online store for club gear, replacing both email-driven processes. For a 26-year-old club with a paid Executive Director, GM, and technical staff running a USL2 semi-pro team plus year-round recreational/competitive programs across two facilities, this turns rental income, currently gated by staff availability to answer emails, into a self-serve revenue stream and removes a real administrative bottleneck for the office.
Tech gaps
No online store/checkout for club gear - a PDF order form is emailed in; no online booking or payment for turf rental despite clearly published hourly rates - booking is 'contact us by email' with prepayment required in advance; the rental contact splits across two different people/emails depending on the calendar month; fundraising is outsourced to a third-party raffle platform rather than run through the club's own site.
Current tech
SportsEngine SRM-powered site; club gear is sold via a PDF catalogue with a manual 'complete the ORDER FORM and email [email protected]' process; PLEXII indoor turf rentals are booked entirely by email with prepayment required before booking is confirmed, and the rental contact changes depending on the month ([email protected] Oct-Apr, a different contact May-Sept); fundraising runs through a third-party platform (Ascend Fundraising Solutions' 'Victory Vault' weekly raffle).
Selling a e-commerce
PlaybookOnline ordering that matches their inventory and pickup or delivery reality, not a generic storefront.
- Ask about phone orders and order mistakes.
- Shopify is fine until the product has options, lots, or local delivery rules.
Objections (1)
- “We use Shopify.”
- Keep it. We build the parts Shopify fights you on: delivery zones, custom products, wholesale accounts.