The leisure operating market has never been in such a dynamic state of flux. Continued austerity, major budget cuts and polarisation of political philosophies on how services should be run all add to an environment where, more than ever, leisure operators have to be on their toes. In the Sports Management Talking Point, a number of operators and advisors shared their views on whether the market had overheated and councils were demanding too much from their contracts.
The article was right to note that in some instances, councils which sometimes take the wrong advice or do not take any advice are seeing leisure contracts as cash generators only, rather than a sustainable market intervention to contribute to a number of wider strategic outcomes. They then have the option to select the optimal management model β often over a period of two to four years before procurement β to enable them to achieve both their financial goals and deliver significant social value.
A broader role A key factor missing in the article was the broader strategic role of leisure in contributing to agendas such as adult social care, regeneration, economic development, placemaking and social cohesion. Leisure cannot continue to try to justify itself for its own sake β it needs to co-create local solutions to bigger issues that can act as a catalyst for partnership working, combine funding through joint commissioning, and leverage investment from regeneration.
This can often lead to co-location of new facilities with other functions and services, making better use of scarce resources. The transformation of our town centres and cityscapes is paving the way from a retail-based core to a mixed economy of retail, leisure, community, commercial and housing.
Local authorities have an opportunity to leverage the expertise of the leisure sector to bring investment that will inject life and atmosphere back into these town centres.
