Defendant New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and plaintiffs Aquatic Development Group, Inc. (ADG) and Recreation Development, Inc. (RDI) are not signatories to the Waterpark Concession Agreement between plaintiff Randalls Island Aquatic Leisure, LLC (RIAL) and the City (through the Department of Parks and Recreation), which governs this dispute. Thus, ADG and RDI are not proper plaintiffs, and EDC is not a proper defendant, which alone is a sufficient ground on which to dismiss the complaint as against it. There can be no breach of contract claim against a non-signatory to the contract (Nuevo El Barrio Rehabilitación de Vivienda y Economía, Inc. v Moreight Realty Corp., 87 AD3d 465, 467 [2011]). There can be no claim of breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing without a contract (American-European Art Assoc. v Trend Galleries, 227 AD2d 170, 171 [1996]). And there can be no quasi-contract claim against a third-party non-signatory to a contract that covers the subject matter of the claim (Bellino Schwartz Padob Adv. v Solaris Mktg. Group, 222 AD2d 313, 313 [1995]).

LEISURE centre chiefs who lost a contract to run a county facility have been compared to the Brittas Empire.

Stroud MP Neil Carmichael likened the former management of newly-revamped Stratford Park leisure centre in Stroud to the BBC sitcom The Brittas Empire.

Mr Carmichael made the disparaging comments as he hailed the successful re-opening of the Stratford Park Leisure Centre following a pound;750,000 refurbishment under the new contractor SLM.

The 1990s TV show starred Chris Barrie playing Gordon Brittas, the embattled manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre.

Highlighting the reopening of the facility, the Tory MP praised the Conservative-led Stroud District Council for having the imagination to get on with the job of delivering an outstanding centre with so many improvements on the previous regime.

He added: Gone are the days of Mr Brittas and the Brittas Empire. Instead, we have an efficiently run organisation with clean facilities.

The changing rooms are absolutely excellent and I invite members to come and see them at any time preferably to change for some sport.

Impressive

The centre demonstrates councils can do things properly if they put their minds to it, and Stroud district council has done exactly that. The centre expects some 25,000 users from the community around Stroud, which is a fairly impressive number.

Parkwood didnt win the contract to run the centre from November 2011, after council chief executive David Hagg told them rapid improvements were needed in cleanliness in 2009. At that time the council sent in its own cleaners and charged pound;2,500 to Parkwood.

Earlier that year cleaners sparked a scare after mistakenly mixed cleaning fluids the fire service was called in with chemical suits to deal with a noxious vapour.

In 2010 a swimmer complained after a toilet was blocked for four days. And in 2008, legionella bacterium was detected.

Mr Carmichael praised Dursley pool and highlighted Stroud RFCs desire to find a new ground.

A Parkwood Leisure spokeswoman said: Parkwood Leisure is very disappointed to learn of Mr Carmichaels comments.

We operate 84 leisure facilities on behalf of 27 clients and employs the 4,500 staff. The companys experience ranges from the management of 50m international swimming pools and state of the art fitness gyms, to ice rinks, theatres and conference venues.

Parkwood Leisure has excellent partnership agreements in existence with organisations such as the Amateur Swimming Association, British Water Polo and the England Squash and Racquetball Association.

Former international handball player who runs EPIC Leisure Centre in Ellesmere Port given Olympics role

Feb 8 2012
by Laurie Stocks-Moore, Ellesmere Port Pioneer

A FORMER international handball player who runs the EPIC Leisure Centre will play a key role organising the sport at the Olympics.

Brio group facilities manager Jon Kelly, from Blacon, has been appointed field of play group leader in the handball competition.

Jon is one of and oversees the running of some of Brios centres including the EPIC Leisure Centre in Ellesmere Port.

He will take an eight-week leave of absence from his role while performing Olympic duties.

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global outlook on the Vacation Cruises Industry. The cruise industry is mainly characterized by positive passenger demographics, wide appeal, favorable demand and supply balance, high consumer satisfaction rate, and exceptional value proposition. Major factors driving growth in the global vacation cruises market include low penetration rates and low pricing. Growth in the global vacation cruises market is expected to be driven by planned capacity additions by leading companies.

San Jose, California (PRWEB) February 08, 2012

Follow us on LinkedIn – Expeditions and cruises are very much a part of the travel and tourism sector. The cruise industry has evolved into a two-tier structure with a broad mass market, from a narrow focused niche vacation experience. Dominant operators, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, offer the advantages such as attractive returns on investments due to the economies of scale, large and modern fleets, and recognizable brand equity. These large operators operate efficiently, have access to capital and a solid cash flow, extensive distribution networks, and manage to grab extra market share. The other level is of small operators that are forced to operate in the non-core vacation markets. These secondary operators, with older and smaller vessels, are stimulating a demand for cruising in the non-conventional areas. The demand for cruising depends on several factors, including demographic changes, political and economic situations, and convenient free time.

Large numbers of the populace are opting for cruising as a means to spend their vacation. The growth can be attributed to the additional destinations, offering recreational activities, and providing different varieties of foods to cruise passengers. Cruise lines, for instance, are offering new-generation of onboard features, such as bungee-trampolines, rock-climbing walls, ice-skating rinks, multi-room villas with in-suite Jacuzzis and private pools, self-leveling billiard tables, demonstration kitchens, water parks, golf simulators, planetariums, surf pools and on-deck LED movie screens. Various interesting recreational activities, such as Scuba diving, snorkeling, and swimming, are trying to change the perception of the non-cruisers. Cruise lines are promoting grade-school adventure programs and teen night clubs to capture target markets. In addition, cruise operators are emphasizing on expanding demographic reach through unveiling and selling of new programs, specifically designed for children. Cruise lines are also launching single traveller cabins to attract solo travellers, without imposing surcharges on cruisers opting for a studio.

Cruise voyages to the polar region that combines exploration with expedition has captured the fancy of the baby boomer generation. Quite a few players have emerged in the industry that operate polar cruises and offer icebreaker trips. However, these are holidays that are way too expensive for the average leisure traveler. Nevertheless, the rich and the adventurous baby boomer generation are seen to opt for these high-end polar holidays that cost huge sums. The profit percentage is considerably increasing by virtue of more number of bookings, capacity utilization, and better yield management. The launch of Voyager of the Seas, a leading and most sophisticated cruise ship in the world, was successful in attracting larger cruisers to the industry. The vessel is targeted at masses with diverse recreational tastes and leisure requirements.

Youngsters asked to fill in online survey about leisure time

Feb 8 2012
by Will Harris, Crewe Chronicle

YOUNG people in Nantwich are being encouraged to take part in an online survey which aims to find out how they want to spend their leisure time.

The Youth Action Group, set up by Nantwich Local Area Partnership, has come up with the questions by young people, for young people.

Schoolchildren over the age of 11 are encouraged to take part.

There are two sections to the survey visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z37MS6T for the first and www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z32LPZ9 for the second.

SWIMMING groups are making waves thanks to a multi-million pound leisure centre, which is celebrating its second birthday.

The pound;12 million Meridian Leisure Centre in Louth celebrated its second anniversary this week, with some of the 18 clubs who have made it their home.

Top leisure industry awards head to Sheffield
Sheffield’s spectacular venues and proud sporting heritage have attracted the leisure industry’s top awards conference and event party to the city this summer.
The Fitness Industry Associated has announced it will hold the FIA amp; Matrix Flame 2012 Conference and Ball at Sheffield International Venues’ Ponds Forge International Sports Centre and the Magna Science Adventure Centre Sheffield on June 27

The boss of JD Sports Fashion has outlined his plans to revitalise Blacks Leisure after buying the chain for £20m in a pre-pack administration deal.

Bury-based JDs executive chairman Peter Cowgill said he believes a review of Blacks will uncover plenty of opportunities for operational efficiencies.

Mr Cowgill said: “JD has got very good back-office systems and disciplines and I think there will be a lot of synergies with Blacks.

“Like Blacks, we are also a multi-sited retailer on a lot of the same high streets, so there could also be opportunities to achieve efficiencies in deliveries.

“Blacks warehouses have got excess capacity, and I think there may be one or two other areas where we overlap.

“When it comes to front-of-house, we have established ourselves as the number one sports retailer, and I think we can extend that into the outdoor market too.”

He said JDs review of the Blacks store portfolio would take around six months and denied suggestions that 90 stores have been earmarked for closure.

However, he said: “Landlords have to become more realistic about their rents. That will affect the number of stores retained.”

Mr Cowgill said speculation that JD had been put under pressure to buy Blacks by its majority shareholder Pentland Capital, which also owns outdoor clothing brands including Berghaus, was way off the mark.

He said a key priority is to rejuvenate Blacks stores.

Mr Cowgill said: “Making sure we get the newest designs from brands is important.

“We will also be investing in the stores to make them more exciting for the consumer.”

He also said he was surprised by rival bidder Sports Directs reaction to the Blacks deal. Sports Direct has called for an Office of Fair Trading investigation into the outdoor and sports retail markets, accusing suppliers of obstructing its own pursuit of Blacks by not confirming they would continue to supply the chain under Sports Direct ownership.

Mr Cowgill said: “They are obviously bitter about the amount of money they have lost and I can understand that.”

In a Christmas trading update, JD said gross like-for-like sales in its core UK and Ireland stores rose 1.6 per cent in the five weeks to January 7.

Sports stores saw sales up by 2.3 per cent, while revenues at the groups fashion stores Bank, Scotts and Cecil Gee, were down 0.7 per cent.

JD said it had maintained gross profit margins broadly in line with the prior year.

Outside the core business, the group said its 72 Chausport stores in France performed well, while sales at the 23 Champion stores in Ireland which JD bought last January had seen significant margin growth following operational improvements.

The 48 Sprinter stores in Spain which JD bought in June saw a marginal sales decline, but the chain said it remained pleased with the business and anticipates opening the first Spanish JD-branded stores in the first half of 2012.

JD has a total of 627 shops in the UK and abroad.

Shares fell 2.17 per cent or 15p to 676p.

Dubai: Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH), a UAE-based operator of hotels and resorts, said its new property in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, will welcome guests tomorrow, marking the soft opening of the groups 13th hotel in the kingdom.

The 153-room hotel is located in the Aramco district of Dhahran, adjacent to two of its principal malls and in the heart of the central business district, making the Coral Dhahran an ideal address for both corporate and leisure visitors.

Michel Noblet, HMH President and CEO, said the group is now positioned to offer a network of accommodation options throughout Saudi Arabia, addressing the needs of both domestic and international travellers as well as those pursuing business and government interests around the country.

With the launch of the flagship Coral Hotel Dhahran, we now have eight Coral hotels there, as well as our EWA Hotel Apartments and Corp Executive Hotel brands and Saudi Arabia can lay claim to hosting nearly 40 per cent of our total inventory following the opening of our first hotel there just five years ago, he said. In the Eastern Province, a key location for the global oil sector, the new Coral Hotel Dhahran has been designed as a grand hotel suitable to host any event from a major corporate conference to a local wedding of prominent people, while offering visitors superior accommodation standards. There is a strong government focus on both business and leisure tourism, reported Noblet. The strategy to break in to the meetings and exhibitions market will benefit all hotel operators as the kingdom looks to play host to large numbers of events, while the new SCTA hotel classification system has supported demand for quality accommodation.

Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre near Blackwood is the third project that has seen Playrite, South Wales Sports Grounds and Caerphilly District Council working together to transform their artificial pitch. Other projects over 2011 included Heolddu Leisure Centre and Newbridge Leisure Centre, both of which have been a huge success and have improved the centers facilities enormously.

The Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre also had a needlepunch surface installed previously, as with Newbridge, and although the surface had served the centre and local schools for many years it was decided that a new 3G surface would provide a better playing surface and increase the pitches usability. Changing the pitch also meant that the centre now had the opportunity to increase the size, and approximately 6890m² of Playrite?s Conqueror 40 was installed in November 2011.