British Sport Industry Essay

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The British Sports Industry

Leisure Provision

The provision of sports facilities and opportunities in Britain is the result of the interaction between the public, private and voluntary sectors. All 3 sectors provide different, yet when looked at closely, similar services.

Public Sector

Public sectors are defined as “institutions funded by money collected from the public in the form of direct or indirect taxes - community charges, income tax, business taxes, VAT on spending and National Insurance” (Stafford-Brown J, et al 2000). Public sectors provide facilities and opportunities for the public, but it is subsidised by the local government. The local government/authorities aid them with …show more content…

A lot of private sectors pride themselves on excellent customer service, ensuring customers feel welcomed whilst using facilities and being made aware of personal trainers should they need one. Also facilities are excellent, equipment is up to date and well maintained a well as bath robes and shower gel being provided. Private sector companies like to ensure every customers needs are met. The areas that private sectors are involved in are:

ð Active sports - tennis, golf, health and fitness suites, snooker and pool and water sports

ð Spectator sports - stadiums for football, rugby, tennis, cricket and golf. Football is by far the most popular spectator sport

ð Sponsorship - this has risen from £129m in 1985 to £285m in 1995

The role of the private sector can be well summarised by this quote from George Torkildsen (1991): “The major difference between the commercial operator and the public or voluntary operator is the raison d’être of the business, the primary objective of the commercial operator being that of financial profit or adequate return on …show more content…

For example not only are the manager and coaches voluntary but so are the whole playing squad. Each individual within the club gives up their spare time to help run the team, for no pay. Some voluntary clubs own their own facilities e.g. church groups, but the majority hire facilities. Voluntary sector clubs often work in partnership with the private or public sector, e.g. they use the public sector facilities or gain sponsorship from private sector companies.

The voluntary sector is mainly funded by its own members, in the form of membership and weekly training fees. These fees are used to cover the costs of pitches, equipment and training. Sponsorship is very hard to come by for voluntary clubs as so many clubs are looking for it. Other ways of funding that clubs opt for are self ran fundraising events such as discos and quiz nights etc. National Lottery grants and grants from the Government are other available options.

Partnerships

Although all 3 sectors have different business approaches, they

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