Costs versus Benefits of a Staging a Global Sporting Event - Case Study Example

Costs versus benefits of a staging a global sporting event Introduction Hosting an international sporting event is a major issue to most governments owing to their financial implications. World Cup football tournaments and commonwealth games are examples of such games that governments invest millions of dollars in order to host with the view of reaping unimaginable benefits. The events are an effective opportunity for a country to show its economic prowess to the world and tap potential investors. However, organizing such events require effective security and massive financial investment in order to provide the visitors with world class treatment required by the visitors who visit the countries for the events (Hubbard, 1999). The Manchester Commonwealth Games held in 2002 is an example of a city that benefited from a global sports event thereby proving that despite the high costs associated with the development of facilities in readiness for such events, the events present economic opportunities to the countries that outweigh the costs as the essay below portrays. Manchester Background Manchester is a metropolitan borough and a city in North West of England. The city has become famous globally as a sports city owing to the active participation of Manchester city football club and Manchester United football club, which are two major title contenders in the local premier league. The two teams have succeeded in placing the city as a sports center both locally and internationally thereby contributing to the popularity of the English premier league. The league gained more popularity owing to the successful marketing of the league; the managers of the city including the Manchester city council have exhibited effective marketing techniques some of which contributed to the success of the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 (Worthington, 2011). The city of Manchester has a population of more than a half a million people with an unplanned urbanized structure owing to the rapid and unanticipated boom of the textile industry during the agrarian revolution. The modern day Manchester is best known as a beta world city, a rank it earned from Globalization and World Cities Research Network owing to its massive reputation in sports, culture, music and unique architecture (Beesley, 1988). The city has a vibrant economy with a gross domestic product of $88.3billion therefore the fastest growing city in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the city is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom a feature that arises from the vibrancy of its tourism and sports industries. The local authority in Manchester city is the Manchester city council seated at the Manchester town hall in Albert Square. The council manages internal matters affecting the daily operations of the city through effective by laws. The town hall itself is an architectural masterpiece typifying the Victorian era Gothic revival architecture. Such are the unique features of the city that have perpetuated the economic growth of the city thereby necessitating the city inclusion into the Core Cities group in 1995. The city enjoys a conducive climate since it seats in a bowl like land area surrounded by the Pennines in the North and by Cheshire plains in the south. The conducive climate and the advanced architectural and economic development were among the major factors that compelled the city’s government to bid to host the commonwealth games in 2002. The authorities viewed the sports as an appropriate opportunity to increase the reputation of the city and attract more investors into the country. Strategy With the strong economy, the city council of Manchester had to prove to the organizing committee that the city was capable of hosting the events. In order to succeed in doing so, the government had to develop its infrastructure and develop facilities capable of hosting the global sports. The event would attract millions of revelers and sports people from all over the world. The government of the United Kingdom had to prove to the millions that it was capable of protecting and housing them (Rowbottom, 1994). The process required the participation of bot the private and the public sector. The government therefore provided several incentives to the private sector including tax reduction for the investors to develop appropriate facilities. The government engaged in massive development plans in order to improve the efficiency of the country. As explained earlier, Manchester had an unplanned structure owing to the rapid boom of the textile industry. However, the government had to rectify the mistake and overcome some of the challenges that arose from the lack of effective plan (Conn, 2008). The government revamped the security of both the country and the city thereby minimizing the terror threat and rolled out expansive development plans that later opened up some of the remotest parts of the city. The developments included the radicalization of the public transport sector in order to improve the efficiency of the airplanes, buses, trains and taxis that are the common means of accessing different parts of the city (Hartwell & Hyde, 2004). Effective management of the transportation sector would help curb the confusion and possible congestions presented by such events. The government therefore invested in major road expansion and developed new train stations to ease the congestion. Furthermore, the government and the local authorities invested in the development of sport facilities including the city of Manchester currently referred to as the Etihad stadium (Schofield, 2005). The successful development of the facilities and the effective security system ensured that the city won its bid to host the event. Action taken The city placed a bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2000 with the hope of winning the bid since England had not hosted a similar event since 1948 when London hosted summer Olympic (Robinson, 1986). The city therefore had a chance of winning the bid and only had to prove its ability to host and sustain the games to the end. In order to gain the gratification of the Olympics committee, the city had to take specific measures in order to prove that it could in deed host the games. The Manchester city council rolled out a massive face-lift of the city and developments of different sports facilities that would change the face and reputation of the city to this day. The Manchester city council initiated the development of City of Manchester Stadium now called the Etihad stadium at a cost of one hundred and ten million pounds (Atkins, 1975). Among the important factors that the Olympic committee consider before granting a city or a country a chance to host a game are security and infrastructure. The 1996 bombing in the city had destroyed the reputation of the city. Security was therefore a major security concern for the committee before granting Manchester the opportunity to host the games. The government therefore invested in improving the security of the city (Parkinson-Bailey, 2000). The city that had joined the core cities group revamped its security agencies including the creation of several agencies to investigate and prevent terrorism. The arrest and prosecution of the some of the suspects who engineered the bombing was a major boost to the city’s security organs that seized the opportunity to prove their efficiency. Furthermore, the 1996 bombing in Manchester city was the last act of terror in England a feature that proved the country safe enough to host the games. The city would only host the games if it proved its ability to host the millions of visitors that would come to the city for the games. The city council of Manchester therefore invested in the development of hotels and other recreational facilities. The government motivated the private investors to tap into the games and increase their profitability. The private sectors therefore spearheaded the development of five star hotels and restaurants in readiness for the games while the government and the city authorities concentrated on the development and expansion of roads and airports among other means of public transport. The games would offer the city an effective opportunity to display its economic development and the authorities sought to make the best of the same (Schaffer, 2002). The government in partnership with the city council of Manchester developed roads even into some of the most remote parts of the city including the eastern parts of the city that had been abandoned for decades following the closure of industries that had operated in such regions. Among the sports facilities that the government developed in readiness for the games and have remained active to this day earning the government millions in pounds annually include the city of Manchester stadium, Manchester Aquatic center, Manchester Velodrome, the Manchester arena and the Manchester central (Redhead, 1993). Additionally, the sports led to the development of the tourism sector in the country as entrepreneurs in the country saw the games as a major opportunity. Besides the sport facilities, the city currently enjoys advanced entertainment facilities including bars, clubs and cinemas developed prior to the games. Hospitality was a major factor in the games since most of the lovers of the sport take such opportunity tour and therefore demand comfort and convenience. The city’s private investors including both local and foreigners invested in various facilities that increased revenue for the government thereby making the games a major success. Outcomes - the legacies By hosting the common wealth games in 2002, the city of Manchester acquired a global status a feature that would later improve the lives of the residents of the city. Prior to the games, the city underwent rigorous development in elevation of the face of the country. The city would benefit from the developments even after the games had concluded. Eastern parts of the city remained dilapidated following the departure of industries that were located in the region decades before the games; the games necessitated the development of the regions as investors took advantage of the low land rates to develop hotels among other recreational facilities. The game would increase demand for hospitality services a feature that compelled both the government and the private sector to invest in hotels and travel among other hospitality services. The budget of the games was about three hundred million pounds; the government provided a hundred million with the Olympics committee providing the rest an amount used in the development of sport venues, roads among other facilities to necessitate the hosting of the games. The economy of the city has remained vibrant ever since the games in 2002. The hospitality industry in the city further received a boost when the country would later host the summer Olympics in 2012. Most of the visitors resorted to seeking accommodation services in other satellite cities with the city of Manchester being a preference for many owing the development and the success of the commonwealth games in 2002 (Price & Stebbing, 2002). In 1996, the city of Manchester had suffered a terrorist attack; the occurrence deterred the development of the city as the tourism industry collapsed with foreign investors taking off to either other cities or countries. The terrorist threat was therefore a major issue in the planning of the games since the games would make the city a potential target for terrorists. The government therefore increased its funding on the security departments and creating new agencies to counter the threat of terrorism. The successful hosting of the games without instances of terror attacks improved the reputation of the city thereby attracting more visitors and investors. The improved security of the city and the country improved revamped the tourism industry. The games necessitated the development of several hotels, recreational facilities and necessitated the improvement of the transport network in the city thereby restoring the tourism industry that has remained vibrant to this day. The sports industry in the city has also remained vibrant to this day; the games led to the development of several sports facilities in the city a feature that encouraged the city’s youth to love sports. Currently, the city of Manchester has two leading teams, Manchester City and Manchester United in the country’s football league. The common wealth games led to the development of such sports facilities as Manchester Aquatics Centre, National Squash Centre and Northern Regional Tennis Centre among many others. Sports have remained a major economic activity in the city with the two teams growing stronger each year owing to the support they obtain from the locals. Sports have further improved the tourism industry as people throng the city on a weekly basis to watch different sports events. Conclusion In a nut shell, holding an international sporting event such as the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 are always high and in most cases, the countries spend millions of dollars in improving the preparedness of the country to host such events. However, as the city of Manchester exhibits, the benefits of the events always outweigh the investments. Such sporting events revamp economies of both the cities and countries hosting the events. The Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 revamped the tourism industry in the city. The government gained more in revenues through different tax regimes as visitors thronged the city. Demand for transportation, hotels and recreational facilities such as parks in the city have had lasting impacts on the economy of the city with sports remaining vibrant since then. The government improved the security of the city prior to the 2002 games and has sustained the security of the city in order to protect the investments that arose from the event. The city of Manchester currently enjoys recognition as an international city with rapid economic developments, which strategically began after the 2002 Commonwealth Games. References Atkins, P. (1975). Guide across Manchester. Manchester: Civic Trust for the North West. Beesley, I. (1988). Victorian Manchester and Salford. Keele: Ryburn. Conn, D. (2008). 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