CC BY
41Major sports events: regional development
catalyzing effects
UDC 796.011
w
Dr. Hab., Professor L.A. Rapoport1 E.V. Kharitonova1 A.S. Markoval
1Ural Federal University (UrFU), Yekaterinburg
Corresponding author: [email protected]
Abstract
Objective of the study was to analyze the key provisions for the major sports events being beneficial for the regional development, with the Sverdlovsk Oblast major sports events hosting experience taken for the case study. Methods and structure of the study. We used for the purposes of the study a standard research toolkit with its analyzing, synthesizing and benchmarking tools.
Results and conclusion. Major sports event offers great potential opportunities for long-term projects and benefits including the tangible and intangible ones for the federal, regional and municipal progress agendas, with a special priority to the sustainable regional development aspects. The major sports events heritage, benefits and success on the whole may be analyzed in the following five key dimensions.
The major sports events host programs should be designed on an integral basis to secure good synergy of shareholder interests with the flows of investments - in the context of the hosts' long-term municipal/ regional development master plans. This context with help the potential investors to have clear vision of the future regional development to forecast progress of the local markets well ahead and, hence, paybacks on their investments in the post-major-sports-event periods. Such business planning with the contingency, risk assessment and ROI elements will provide a strong foothold for the potential investments and, hence, make the major sports events projects attractive.
The Sverdlovsk Oblast Government and the relevant local agencies have the necessary resource and competences for the major sports events hosting and efficient management; plus excellent competences and experience in the sports infrastructure development projects, technical servicing, television broadcasting, refereeing services, sports delegation reception and servicing, transport and logistics, clientele-specific volunteering servicing and many other major sports events related issues - to facilitate the regional development initiatives in every social, economic, political, communicative, PR, infrastructural and environmental domain.
Keywords: acceleration of regional development, major sports event, heritage of major event, physical education and sports development, sports infrastructure.
Background. Modern major sports events with their huge social, economic and many other benefits on the one hand and potential excessive overpressures on the governmental budgets with overspendings and resource management inefficiencies on the other hand - are still ranked among the key drivers of regional development programs [5-7]. This is the rea-
son why the federal and regional governments need to prudently design and manage the major sports events on a sound and systematic basis with due account of every economic and social benefit and risk. The major sports events in this context may be ranked among the key catalysts of regional reforms since they encourage investments in the physical education and sport sys-
PEOPLE'S PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
tem and public infrastructure development projects - conditional on the investments being well planned, analyzed, designed and managed for progress of the host regions and cities.
Objective of the study was to analyze the key provisions for the major sports events being beneficial for the regional development, with the Sverdlovsk Oblast major sports events hosting experience taken for the case study.
Methods and structure of the study. We used for the purposes of the study a standard research toolkit with its analyzing, synthesizing and benchmarking tools.
Results and discussion. Major sports event offers great potential opportunities for long-term projects and benefits including the tangible and intangible ones for the federal, regional and municipal progress agendas, with a special priority to the sustainable regional development aspects. The major sports events heritage, benefits and success on the whole may be analyzed in the following five key dimensions.
1. Economic dimension related to the economic costs and benefits of the major sports events with account of every direct and indirect one.
2. Regional infrastructure development dimension including the major-sports-events-related large-scale infrastructure development projects, with a special attention to their post-major-sports-events operation and maintenance aspects and business benefits to avoid such projects degrading to the so-called "white elephants" i.e. expensive, unpopular, inoperable and loss-making assets.
3. Political/ communicative/ PR dimension related to the major sports events viewed as a global platform for the local political/ PR messages and agendas, with a special contribution to the local major sports events hosting and management experiences, and with the host country/ region/ cities using the major sports events to brand their names and images as efficient and hospitable hosts.
4. Social dimension related to the education, social and public awareness programming, social consolidation and increased popularity of both the sports events and mass physical education and sports / health movements and healthy lifestyles on the whole.
5. And environmental dimension in the context of the local and national environmental sustainability related initiatives. The hosts are expected to rate the major sports events benefits for the environmental components of the regional sustainable development projects
including their energy saving, public transportation, carbon footprint reduction, efficient waste management, biological diversity preservation, pollution prevention/ mitigation and other related aspects [4].
For the major sports events being successful and beneficial for the regional development programs, the host region/ cities need to:
1. Establish, on a timely and efficient basis, the major sports events host infrastructure via long-term investments in the major sports events assets and sports equipment procurements;
2. Analyze the post-major-sports-events asset management, with due market research projects and operation and maintenance business plans to ensure the major sports events host infrastructure being beneficial for the local communities for a long time after the event; and
3. Control the major sports events financial management system by a variety of methods including independent external audits, to ensure strict responsibility for the major-sports-event-related flows of finance.
The major sports events host programs should be designed on an integral basis to secure good synergy of shareholder interests with the flows of investments - in the context of the hosts' long-term municipal/ regional development master plans. This context with help the potential investors to have clear vision of the future regional development to forecast progress of the local markets well ahead and, hence, paybacks on their investments in the post-major-sports-event periods. Such business planning with the contingency, risk assessment and ROI elements will provide a strong foothold for the potential investments and, hence, make the major sports events projects attractive.
The Sverdlovsk Oblast with its vast major sports events hosting experience (including the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches hosting in Yekaterinburg) is much interested in further hosting of global and national sports events. The Sverdlovsk Oblast Government reports hosting more than 8 thousand sports events a year including 30-plus international ones. Thus in 2019 the Sverdlovsk Oblast reportedly hosted 8,484 sports events attended by 2 million 182 thousand 567 people.
The Sverdlovsk Oblast government ranks the upcoming 2023 FISU Summer World University Games in August among the regional development catalyzing major sports events. The qualifiers for the event will compete in Yekaterinburg city for 248 sets of medals in 18 sports including 15 FISU-mandated disciplines
68 Theory and Practice of Physical Culture I teoriya.ru I July № 7 2021
(badminton, basketball, water polo, volleyball, judo, track and field athletics, table tennis, swimming, diving, gymnastics, archery, tennis, taekwondo, fencing and rhythmic gymnastics); plus 3 optional sports (boxing, sambo and rugby-7).
The 2023 FISU Summer World University Games Board of Executives has come up with an operational budget supported by business analyses and cost estimates. In August 2019 the cost estimates and consolidated budgetary requirements were submitted to the Ministry of Finance, with the Federal and Sverdlovsk Oblast Government budgets expected to finance 70% and 30% of the event costs, respectively.
As far as the post-major-sports-event benefits ('regional development legacy') of the Games are concerned, we would mention that they will be hosted by 31 venues in 4 Sverdlovsk Oblast municipalities (Yekaterinburg, Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Pervouralsk and Sysert) to meet expectations and requirements of the FISU and the relevant international sports federations. It should be mentioned that 22 of the 31 venues are already in place, and 9 need to be constructed or rehabilitated.
The Sverdlovsk Oblast Government was driven by the cost efficiency considerations when taking an un-traditional decision to host the above 9 sports in venues of the Yekaterinburg-EXPO International Exhibition Center (IEC). Four IEC venues will host seven competitive courts and 10 training gyms to largely meet the demand for the sports facilities. The remaining 3 venues will be financed by the Federal Governmental budget and constructed in Yekaterinburg, including a multiservice indoor facility in the Judo Palace, a Water Sports Palace, and a Rhythmic and Aesthetic Gymnastics Center.
Furthermore, the Sverdlovsk Oblast Government will finance construction of a Football Center of the Ural Football Academy; the N.V. Karpol Academy of Volleyball Physical Education and Sport / Health Complex; Sambo Palace in Verkhnyaya Pyshma; and Tennis Center in Sysert. In addition, a private-public partnership of the Sverdlovsk Oblast Government and Ice Arena JSC will construct a multiservice indoor ice sport venue.
Most of the survey and design works under the sports assets rehabilitation projects for the World Summer University Games have been completed, including the Yekaterinburg Arena stadium adaptation for the multiservice operations in the post-event period. The hosts have also come up with the Terms of
Reference for the project design and cost estimates to restore the football field and tracks at the Yeltsin Ural Federal University. The project design and rehab works are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Science and scheduled for completion by March 2023.
Conclusion. The Sverdlovsk Oblast Government and the relevant local agencies have the necessary resource and competences for the major sports events hosting and efficient management; plus excellent competences and experience in the sports infrastructure development projects, technical servicing, television broadcasting, refereeing services, sports delegation reception and servicing, transport and logistics, clientele-specific volunteering servicing and many other major sports events related issues - to facilitate the regional development initiatives in every social, economic, political, communicative, PR, infra-structural and environmental domain.
References
1. Lednev V.A. Business in the sports industry: myth or reality?. Vestnik Rossiyskogo mezhdun-arodnogo olimpiyskogo universiteta. 2019. No. 1 (30). pp. 66-77.
2. Kotlyarov M.A. Megasport events and development of territories (works of foreign authors). Yekaterinburg: AMB publ., 2015. GV. 1. 130 p.
3. On the approval of the comprehensive program of the Sverdlovsk region "Organization of the preparation and hosting of the XXXII World Summer Universiade 2023 in Yekaterinburg" Resolution of the Government of the Sverdlovsk region of 20.08.2020 No. 563-PP. (electronic resource). Available at: http://www.garant.ru/hotlaw/sver-dlovsk/1409179/.
4. Rapoport L.A., Terentyev A.E., Kharitonova E.V. Benefits of major sport events for regional physical culture and sports promotion agenda. Teori-ya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2018. No. 1. pp. 19-21.
5. Tomlinson M.A Poisoned Chalice or a New Dawn for Low- and Middle-income Countries? Journal of Global Health. 2011. Vol. 1, No. 1 (June).
6. Baumann R., Matheson V.A. Infrastructure Investments and Mega-Sports Events: Comparing the Experience of Developing and Industrialized Countries College Holy Cross. 2013.
7. Muller M. What makes an event a mega-sport? Definitions and sizes. Leisure Studies. 2015. No. 34 (6). pp. 627-642.
