The weather is also a threat, since attendance declines as the attractiveness of outdoor pursuits increases. Manuel should pursue several different courses of action. He should be willing to sell ice time to hockey groups if it is more profitable, even on weekend evenings. He should focus on courting the teenage and young adult market during times when competition for their business is less intense, like weeknights. He should recognize the value of the ice arena as a babysitter and schedule skates for times when that has an appeal, such as after school. We should also focus his marketing efforts on media used by his target market. Some people still listen to radio, but if Manuel wants to reach a younger audience he needs to do it online, via text message marketing and other modes of communication that have a better reach with his target.

Manuel should be open to implementing all of these options. Given the intensity of competition...

Manuel needs to make several changes. At the core of the implementation strategy, however, should be information. Right now Manuel is making his decisions based on incorrect assumptions, then wondering why those decisions are not working.
Instead, he should gather information before making decisions. Let the market tell him what works. He also needs to be more open to all options. He is fixated on options that are not going to work. For example, if hockey is the only thing that sells, then that should be the only thing he sells. Ultimately, the competition is intense, which means for O'Keefe to succeed Manuel will need to work smarter. He has worked hard, but he needs to shift his focus towards changing most of his marketing mix - certainly the promotion and likely the product and scheduled times as well.