PLANNING FUNDING FACILITIES
Cuts in local authority expenditure, judicious bank lending and cautious corporate funding are hampering the construction of new sports facilities. Mark Walker of Oaks Consultancy advises sports providers to dedicate more time and research to the planning, conception and ongoing potential of their new builds
T
here has always been an aspira- tion among sports providers to build iconic facilities that help to
define them and their sport. In times of economic success, the ability to borrow commercial money against these projects – given their high profile nature – has been the avenue of choice. Not much thought was needed regarding the outputs of these facilities – given their ability to drive commercial revenues in a willing market and gate receipts against the main attraction. We now operate in a very different
world where access to finance is proving increasingly hard to source through the
banking sector. Swingeing cuts in local authority (LA) budgets and reluctance within the corporate world to invest against uncertain returns means organisations have to think more about the nature of their builds and the messages they deliver. In order to find a way through the
maze and deliver a facility that can still please the fans and make a statement yet satisfy its commercial backers and give back to the community, we must look at each segment of the process from planning and design conception through funding to ongoing revenues once built.
Planning Approaching a local authority has traditionally involved conversations surrounding the impact on the local area, transport solutions, green belt issues and community needs. While these issues remain, now there are new considerations – some of which present opportunities. Local authorities are having to make
hard choices about the leisure services they provide and indeed many have had to close provision where the business case does not stack up yet, the local need
A new facility creates jobs and attracts more people to the area
44 SPORTS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK 2012
remains. This presents an opportunity that may well win the day where planning is in the balance. It could be that the facil- ity build forms part of a wider joined-up plan identified through a commissioned facility strategy, perhaps with the developer having a level of engagement, i.e. as part of a leisure trust board. There is and will continue to be a need
for LAs to outsource their leisure stock to third parties as part of a cost-saving ex- ercise. Usually these relationships involve the preferred contractor contributing towards the overall investment. This can ease the planning process and investment concerns. However, this system must be well timed to coincide with the outsourc- ing process, so some investigation into the status of the LA could be beneficial. Sport England and, to an extent, some
of the larger sports governing bodies have been working hard to develop planning tools in the field to guide and inform LAs and help organisations to refine their plans. They have produced accessible resources which need to be fully incorporated into the planning phase for all new proposals. Consideration should also be given
to wider agendas outside sport, which may be socially driven like health, social inequality and deprivation, education and employment. Sports brands tend to carry
www.sportsmanagementhandbook.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132