Sports facility refers to places and things necessary in doing sports as it involves a variety of risks related to safety. It is necessary for various types of sports such as cricket, football, baseball, etc. The most common sport in the world is football that is being watched by a large number of audiences, so there is a lot of crowd at the place where it organizes the event. The management of a football ground is a critical and challenging task for the organizer. The organizer of sports (especially football) is entitled to ensure safety and other measures before executing the plan of a sports event. It shows that operation management is important in this venue. In the globalization, sports are not limited to few games or physical activities as more audiences and participants are involved in this activity. However, the management of football is also essential for other sports that are also popular in the modern era. The management of sports requires reviewing the components that are essential for running this venue. The main components of sports facility operation management are described below.
Pre-management Challenges
It relates to the start-up of a new venue that is financing and construction issues that arise at the beginning of any business. Sports management requires a place or ground in which various facilities will be provided to participants to compete and provide entertainment. In fact, it is the major challenge that should be properly reviewed and managed by the management before it plans to open such business. It describes as what and how to arrange all the things before starting a new venue (Hoye et al., 2015).
Implementation of Various Operations
It refers to the implementation of different operational activities such as fulfillment of legal requirements, financial management, human resource management, etc. It also includes acquisition and utilization of various resources that will be used in this venue. Sports managers should implement strategies and policies for a smooth move in this venue and ensures that all operations have a direction in which it has to move on (Sulayem et al., 2013).
Ancillary Management Challenges
It refers to the planning of the overall operations of sports including risks assessment strategies. As safety is the major component in sports management, managers pay special attention to facilitating participants and audiences. In fact, safety has become important for any sports management where management focuses on implementing security systems, rescuing in the case of emergency, and the use of technology to monitor the overall place where sports is going on. All these processes need planning that can reduce the effort of managers, and an automatic system can provide effective outcomes (Mullin et al., 2014).
It is also the main components in sports operation management where the performance of employees needs to be regularly assessed to avoid any difficulty in maintaining all operations. Regular checks and balances enable the management to bring change in the existing pathway or technique to obtain the desired results. The arrangement is crucial for sports management where there are two beneficiaries, audiences, and participants (Thompson et al., 2015).
Health and Safety in Sports Facility
Sports facility is a type of venue in which risk is the dominant element and managers are entitled to mitigate it by making effective and strict policies that ensure safety and security. Some adopted policies and strategies are discussed below in detail.
Key Health and Safety Legislations in the UK
The concerned institution for ensuring health and safety measures in the UK is Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, 1974. The key legislations that are related to health and safety in sports management are.
Employers are required to carry out risks assessments (hiring professionals)
Machinery and Equipment should be safe. (High-Quality Machines)
Facilities like heating, lighting, seating, etc. should be safely provided to users. (Arrangements)
First aid requirements must be fulfilled. (Emergency)
Training to employees is also essential. (Training)
Gas and electricity safety is mandatory. (Precautionary Measures)
All the above legislations are made for the safety of users including employees, participants, and audiences. It is necessary to determine how these legislations can ensure high safety for users. To clarify the importance of legislation, they are evident from the various literature that is discussed below.
1. Hiring Professionals
Thompson et al. (2015) highlight that professionalism is required in every field, so sports management also requires professionals who are an expert in performing their delegated tasks efficiently. In fact, it is the duty of the management to hire experienced employees who can assess various safety and security risks and try to mitigate it (Thompson et al., 2015). Hoye et al. (2015) also supports the claim and identified that sports management solely depends on high-quality equipment and professional managers who are experts in reducing the threats related to this nature of business (Hoye et al., 2015). Mullin et al. (2014) further illustrate that it is the sole responsibility of the management to provide safety measures to users to avoid any critical situation that may arise during the execution of specific tasks (Mullin et al., 2014)
2. High-Quality Machines and Equipment
McGuine et al. state that the equipment is extensively used in this venue, so it is the implied and express obligation of sports manager to repair or change the equipment that becomes old (McGuine et al., 2014). Hoye et al. (2015) also illustrate that equipment and machines should regularly check whether they are performing according to the expectations (Hoye et al., 2015). The mismanagement in this area may result in two issues that are.
• Participants may not perform according to expectation, and there would be no entertainment.
• Another important drawback may arise if a participant gets injured that would be a dangerous situation.
3. Arrangements
Arrangements of lighting, heating, and seating are the core responsibilities of a sports manager. Byers (2015) highlights that sports manager should check and inspect all the things are set according to the priorities of users. Also, a team should be ready to counter any problem that may arise during performances of participants without disturbing audiences (Byers, 2015). Hoye et al. (2015) also state that management work should be done before the programs and all measures must be taken to provide high-quality facilities to all users. Lack of arrangement may result in the disturbance during the program or event that may result in the loss of entertainment for users (Hoye et al., 2015).
4. Emergency
Shilbury & Ferkins (2015) state it is the most important factor in every business management in which the management avoids unusual circumstances through their protective measures. The management should set all the things in a way that there should be a space to move freely in case of emergency (Shilbury & Ferkins, 2015). Harmon et al. (2013) also explain that the geographic structure of the place should be set in a way that it may be utilized to evacuate the public on right time, and there should be no injury or death. It is also known as emergency management that is the priority of every ground or event to maintain peace (Harmon et al., 2013).
5. Training
Sulayem et al. (2013) explain that sports management is a critical process in which professionals are required to perform overall operations so there is a need for training of employees who can deliver their best to the organization (Sulayem et al., 2013). Cunningham et al. (2015) also explain that there is a need to train employees working in sports venue so that a manager can obtain what is expected from them. The employee training is necessary that enhance their skills and abilities to deal with any critical situation efficiently. The teamwork is essential in this management where everyone is assigned to do specific tasks. They should be provided effective training to increase the overall performance of an organization (Cunningham et al., 2015). Moreover, they are entitled to provide safety to all that is participants and users so their training should be strictly provided to avoid any difficulty in future.
6. Precautionary Measures
Pedersen & Thibault (2014) explain that where there is a big ground, there is a big risk of sparks or fire in it. The overall system of the ground should be properly checked and maintained according to the requirements of safety (Pedersen & Thibault, 2014). Sulayem et al. (2013) state that before the day of performance, management is required to check that electricity and gas are properly working, and there is no disturbance that can create hurdles during the program (Sulayem et al., 2013).
Sports management is a big responsibility in which the organizer or manager is entitled to ensure high safety that is the main reason why various legislations are made to control and manage this. Due to high risks, a highly skilled Manager is required who has effective leadership qualities and delegate responsibilities to other who are well trained. It is difficult to manage the crowd during performances, and it is the implied and expressed obligation of the management to ensure safety. The legislations and their relevance for the safety of users are discussed in the paper to highlight the importance of safety and security in its management. These legislations are strict policies for the sports management that should be properly followed by sports managers to avoid any difficulty in future. In short, all these measures can be taken before the performance is carried out.
List of References
Byers, D.T., 2015. Contemporary Issues in Sport Management: A Critical Introduction. New York: SAGE.
Cunningham, G.B., Fink, J.S. & Doherty, A., 2015. Routledge Handbook of Theory in Sport Management. London: Routledge.
Harmon, K.G. et al., 2013. American Medical Society for Sports Medicine position statement: concussion in sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 47(1), pp.15-26.
Hoye, R., Smith, A.C.T., Nicholson, M. & Stewart, B., 2015. Sport Management: Principles and Applications. London: Routledge.
McGuine, T.A., Hetzel, S., McCrea, M. & Brooks, M.A., 2014. Protective Equipment and Player Characteristics Associated With the Incidence of Sport-Related Concussion in High School Football Players. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 42(10), pp.2470-78.
Mullin, B.J., Stephen, H. & William, S., 2014. Sport Marketing 4th Edition. New York: Human Kinetics.
Pedersen, P.M. & Thibault, L., 2014. Contemporary Sport Management, 5E. New York: Human Kinetics.
Shilbury, D. & Ferkins, L., 2015. Exploring the Utility of Collaborative Governance in a National Sport Organization. Journal of Sport Management, 29(1), pp.380-97.
Sulayem, M.B., O'Connor, S. & Hassan, D., 2013. Sport Management in the Middle East: A Case Study Analysis. Lonson: Routledge.
Thompson, A., Potrac, P. & Jones, R., 2015. ‘I found out the hard way’: micro-political workings in professional football. Sport, Education and Society, 20(1), pp.976-94.
