Title: Investigating the sport participation legacy of a major event: the case of one multi-use sport facility

Authors: Kevin E.S. Wilson; Patti Millar

Addresses: Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W., Waterloo, Ontario, N2L-3G1, Canada ' Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave., Windsor, Ontario, N9B-3P4, Canada

Abstract: Newly constructed sport facilities are often a staple of hosting major sport events. However, these facilities often become underutilised and present a significant financial burden for host communities. With demonstrated relationships between facility access and physical activity levels, sport facilities that are built with intended community use following the event are perhaps a likely mechanism to foster a sport participation legacy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sport participation legacy associated with one multi-use sport facility built for a major sport event. Interviews with key stakeholders and an analysis of program documents revealed that the location and design of the facility itself, the formal agreements between the facility operating groups, and the breadth of sport and recreation programming offered at the facility all contributed to fostering a post-event sport participation legacy. Future research directions and practical implications are presented.

Keywords: event legacy; sport participation; recreation programming; sport facilities; major events; community sport; recreation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2022.128623

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2022 Vol.22 No.5/6, pp.315 - 335

Accepted: 22 Dec 2021
Published online: 31 Jan 2023 *

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