Sport funding in the UK Essay Example
Sport funding in the UK Essay Example

Sport funding in the UK Essay Example

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  • Pages: 8 (2173 words)
  • Published: August 23, 2017
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The SPORT Support Introduction explains that athletics involves physical ability and is a competitive game or interest. With the emergence of new media technologies, sports have become increasingly popular and attracted a growing fan base. Major events like Wimbledon, Olympics, and FIFA World Cup generate revenue for athletes and countries, creating a link between the sports industry and leisure centers as community social and sports centers. The study focuses on investigating various types of support for sports in Britain with Football, Tennis, and Golf being among the most prominent areas. The objective is to identify these sources of support, describe five of them while also explaining their differences before comparing them to other types of support offered in Britain.
In order to analyze the impact that different sources of support have on sports and leisure centers an understanding must be

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gained around how such support commences. Harris B., Mills R., Parker-Bennett S (2006) define sponsorship as a "concern relationship between a supplier of finances and an individual, event or organization which offers in return some rights and association that may be used for commercial advantage" (p. 25). Sponsorship plays an important role in sustaining both athletics and sporting competitions as demonstrated by football's decline during the 1970s due to its reputation as a sport for bullies.According to Harris (2004), media coverage played a crucial role in decreasing issues with football sponsorships and encouraging sponsors to invest in the sport again. However, less popular sports like squash struggle to attract sponsors due to a lack of media coverage and popularity. Similarly, archery has difficulty gaining sufficient viewership for television coverage, resulting in it being considered a less

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profitable investment for sponsors compared to more popular sports like football.

Despite this, income from advertising and media can still provide significant support for sports. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport allocated ?47 million towards athletics in 1991, which slightly increased to ?52 million by 2002. In comparison, support for broadcast advertising and media soared from ?22 million to ?105 million during the same period – demonstrating the growing demand and power of media.

Clubs can now utilize modern technologies such as large screens or even create their own television channels to earn income from fans who pay to watch games remotely. Advertising new and improved sports gear is also a means of generating revenue; Premiership football alone can be worth up to ?1 billion through deals with companies like Sky.

Sports equipment such as golf clubs, tennis rackets, or watches are attractive purchases especially when associated with a favorite sport or athlete.During major sporting events such as the premiership football or FIFA World Cup, large companies pay a significant amount to advertise on live boards in the stadium. This provides crucial support for these tournaments. On-air advertisements during sports events also help fund media broadcasts and feature popular athletes who play the sport being broadcasted. For instance, Canon sponsors Maria Sharapova and pays for ads to air during Wimbledon featuring both her and the company. This arrangement benefits Maria through sponsorship while advertising and television coverage provide revenue for athletics and entertainment worldwide. Telephone and website access to match reports, as well as latest scores, can generate income through user fees or corporate sponsorship. Biographical books and articles about participants also offer financial benefits.

The National Lottery

fund has contributed over ?1.6 billion to arts, heritage, and athletics since its inception in 1994; however, applying for this funding is challenging due to its 'match fund' system that only provides partial funding based on successful fundraising from other sources.

On June 1st of 2004, The Big Lottery Fund emerged after merging with New Opportunities Fund & Community Fund organizations aiming at simplifying support in areas where they overlap while ensuring that lottery support offers the best value for money possible.The fund, which is generated from the sale of lottery tickets and expected to generate between ?600 and ?700 million per year until 2009, will primarily support charities and the voluntary sector in areas such as health, education, the environment, and sports. The focus will be on community transformation, with grants typically distributed by local councils through monetary means or reduced costs for using council facilities. Local organizations, charities, and volunteer groups covering a range of areas can apply for these grants including leisure and sports provision. Applications may require a petition for 25% support but exceptional cases may receive up to 50%. Projects with total costs under ?15,000 can be submitted throughout the year with notification within eight weeks; however only one bidding round per year is available for projects exceeding ?15,000. Highbury Park was previously associated exclusively with Arsenal but this is set to change as Emirates Stadium opens its doors - a luxurious 60,000-seat arena that reportedly cost $725 million. This development has resulted in higher fees for visitors due to amenities such as 150 executive boxes catering to corporate guests.The executive boxes at Highbury Park will come in sizes of 10,

12 or 15 seats and have their own personal lift from the assigned parking area. These boxes will be available for all 19 Premiership matches as well as any Champions League, FA and League Cup fixtures. The starting price for these nine executive boxes is ?120,000 with the objective to generate no less than ?18 million in revenue. Arsenal.com confirms that there will be no adjustment in general ticket prices for the upcoming season, where season tickets can range between ?1,600 and ?3,400. The Observer observes how fees can serve as a means of support by referencing other clubs who sell extra seats at discounted rates to increase attendance. Barker (2003) describes "trading", which involves selling a club's merchandise to fans; Table 1 illustrates this point by displaying how support is derived from this source through sport goods and consumer expenditures listed in pounds (?). Additionally, the table below presents sales revenue and percentage of total earnings for various categories related to sports products and services; the first column contains the category name while the second lists its corresponding sales revenue (in millions), with the third column representing its percentage out of total revenue earned.In Table 1, the categories of sales revenue and their percentages are shown. The table includes Sport vesture and footwear with a revenue of 3086 million and a percentage of total revenue at 20.3%. Additionally, Sport equipment has a revenue of 969 million with a percentage of 6.4%, Boats have a revenue of 768 million with a percentage of 5.0%, and Sport related publications have a revenue of 639 million with a percentage of 4.2%. The subtotal for these categories is

identified as 5462 units, which represents 35.9% of the total revenue. Another category displayed in the table is Sport services, including Health & Fitness with a revenue of 1243 million (8.2%), Participant Sports with a revenue of1681 million (12%), Spectator Sports generating $813M(5.%), sport chancing producing $3111M or (20.%),andSport TV & broadcasting rights contributing $1166M or(7.7%).The analysis reveals that sponsorship serves as an essential source to provide care for operating expenses and athletic expenditures; however, some patrons sometimes fail to distribute funds equally among specific athletics subjects.According to Barker R., Saipe R., Sutton L., and Tucker L.'s (2003) BTEC National Sport, Heinemann, p.17, corporate sponsorship often prioritizes individual gain over community or organizational benefit. The Nike-Tiger Woods sponsorship, valued at approximately US $100 million, is a prime example of this approach as the money goes directly towards Tiger's personal earnings rather than young golf players or new golf courses. While it can be challenging for community or leisure centers to obtain corporate sponsorship, some companies prefer to sponsor events that reach multiple communities and promote their products. Athletes' charitable contributions from their sponsorship royalties may offer limited support for leisure centers; however, media income remains a significant funding source for sports despite its dependence on athletes' popularity. Golf experienced heightened interest with Tiger Woods' emergence in the sport but his retirement has raised concerns about future media funding for golf.Jackson (2004) suggests that national lottery funding for athletes may lead to complacency and is not recommended for leisure centres. This is because in order for athletes to receive support, they must achieve certain times at a national standard, which are not high enough to win

medals in international competitions. Jackson expresses concern that athletes may become complacent once they receive support and questions if their drive is still present. However, the funding does provide significant financial support for athletes' expenses. Despite this, the current approach has resulted in individualized training and fragmentation of the sport. To encourage more children to participate in sports, Jackson proposes that funding should go towards developing better managers, group training, and quality facilities across the country. Therefore, it is suggested that the lottery should be better suited to fund athletics rather than leisure centers.

Two examples of successful projects supported by Sport England's Lottery grants are the Coddenham societal and athletics community centre [15] and the East Anglian Sports Park [16]. The Coddenham centre received over ?425,000 of funding and includes a multi-purpose sports hall, changing facilities, an all-weather games area, a bowling green and a community room.GrantsThe East Anglian Sports Park, which received a grant of ?14.5m, has encouraged over 5,000 people to be more active through classes in yoga, body conditioning, line dance and Pilates. It has also created new sports clubs for bowls, badminton and squash as well as ladies' and youth football teams. The sports park offers facilities for over 43 different sports and hosts national, regional and local events. Athletic and leisure facilities at the park include a 12-court badminton hall, a 50m training pool, a climbing wall, five squash courts, a fitness center complete with an aerobic and dance studio along with committee suites and offices as well as a dedicated martial arts room- all easily accessible to the local community. Spectators have plenty of seating while ample meeting rooms

are available. Since its opening three years ago it has offered 199 sports classes including the 'Fitness in Later Life' program that provides regular activity for those over 50 years old.British under 17 and under 20 titles have been held at the installation.The facility sees over1 .2 million people each year;80% of whom come from the local community.It has created forty new jobs including thirty managers who operate on-site.Since its opening in September 2004, the upgraded center has welcomed more than 24,000 visitors who have utilized its many amenities including a five-court sports hall, fitness suite, multi-use games area, small and large ATPs, clubroom and foundling hospital. These figures align with Sport England's aim to increase engagement by 1% annually until 2020. To improve existing facilities and promote access to sports and leisure activities within the local community, Sport England provided ?1.5m Lottery funding. Thanks to the efforts of the Centre's fourteen managers, over 1,100 males under eighteen received ten hours of training per week. The Norfolk Sports Alliance and Norfolk Badminton Association also established partnerships with the facility. Grants were determined as an appropriate form of support for leisure centers since they are commonly offered by wealthy donors or named after them; this type of financing is suitable for one-time purchases or short-term initiatives that may eventually secure long-term support from other sources. However, grants may not be as fitting for community centers due to their association with fees and membership charges that do not align with these organizations' objectives.The study examined five different sources of support for sports and leisure in Britain, including advertising, facility charges, the National Lottery, sports betting, grants, contributions,

bank loans, membership fees, sponsorship, admission fees, ticket fees, sales and income from television. Grants were found to be particularly beneficial for community centers. Despite their exclusive nature and potential for oligopolies to collude and set high prices, bear downing fees can also be applied in certain scenarios such as leasing facilities for school or religious sports events. The report recommended developing a network of multi-sport hubs across the country to increase engagement in athletics while providing health, social welfare and educational services. Ultimately the aim was to analyze each source of support's advantages and disadvantages with regards to their impact on sports departments and leisure centers in Britain.The reader is responsible for future use of the study, which achieved its objectives. The sources referenced include Barker R., Saipe R., Sutton L., and Tucker L.'s BTEC National Sport (Heinemann, 2003), Bueno L.'s "Money Over Sentiment: Arsenal Moving from Sacred Highbury Park to New, Luxurious Emirates Stadium" (The Press-Enterprise, May 2006), Harris B., Mills R., and Parker-Bennett S.'s BTEC First Sport (Heinemann, 2004), Pass C.'s Collins Internet-Linked Dictionary of Business (3rd Edition, Collins, 2005, p.398), Roberts I.'s AVCE Leisure and Recreation (Advanced, Heinemann, 2002, p.32), The Central Council of Physical Education's "Sources of Funding for Sport and Recreation" (2005, p.5) publication as well as Webster’s New English Dictionary: Compact Edition (2003). Information on funding sources for talented athletes can be found in the Geddes and Grosset Compact Edition book along with various online sources including culture.gov.uk website and The Observer Guardian website. Jackson C.'s article in the Mugwump discusses how lottery support positively impacted athletes at the 2004 Olympic Games. Furthermore, governmentfunding.org.uk website and waverley.gov.uk website

provide information on sports funding opportunities.

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