Usability of Sport Arenas a Multiple Case Study of Olympia and Helsingborg Arena Güncel Ömer
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Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Education and Society Sport Sciences: One-year Master’s Thesis 15 Credits, Second Cycle Usability of sport arenas A multiple case study of Olympia and Helsingborg Arena Güncel Ömer Master (One Year/ 60 ECTS) of Science in Examiner: Johan Norberg Sport Sciences Seminar opposition: 26 August 2019 Supervisor: Joakim Åkesson Table of contents Acknowledgments 5 Abstract 6 Introduction 7 Research aim and questions 9 Previous Research 10 Arena development 10 Arena location 11 Usability of arenas 12 Summary of Previous Research 13 Theoretical framework 14 Utilization 14 Localization & planning 15 Effectivity and productivity 15 Stakeholders 16 Methodology 19 Research design 19 Empirical data 21 Semi-structured interviews 21 Secondary data 22 Data collection 23 Interviews 23 Documents 24 Summary of data collection 25 Data analysis 25 Methodological discussion 27 Critical discussion of sources 27 Validity & Reliability 28 Ethical considerations 29 Results and Analysis 33 Usage of the arenas 33 Sport related usability of Olympia 33 Non-sport related usability of Olympia 34 Analysis of the usability of Olympia 35 Sport related usability of Helsingborg Arena 36 Non-sport related usability of Helsingborg Arena 38 Analysis of the usability of Helsingborg Arena 40 Localization of the arenas 41 Analysis of localization 43 Values for the stakeholders 44 Helsingborg Municipality 44 2 HISO 46 HASAB 46 FC Helsingborg 47 Analysis of values for stakeholders 47 Conclusions and discussion 49 Discussion 49 Usability of Helsingborg Arena 49 Usability of Olympia 50 Localization 51 Categorized Stakeholders values 52 Conclusions 54 Implications and suggestions for further research 56 References 57 Appendices Fel! Bokmärket är inte definierat. Interview guidelines 62 Consent form 66 3 4 Acknowledgments I want to thank my supervisor Joakim Åkesson for his advice and guidance throughout this course. Thank you Anders, Charlie, Fredrik and Julius for taking your time and participating in this study. I wish you all the very best in your careers. 5 Abstract The aim of this thesis is to analyze the usability phenomena of sport arenas and what values it brings to different stakeholders. The thesis is a multiple case study of Olympia and Helsingborg Arena in Helsingborg city. Both arenas are built and owned by the municipality and are used for sports and entertainment purposes of various themes. The main stakeholders that have been part of the thesis are the Helsingborg municipality administration of School and Leisure administration (responsible of green surfaces at the arenas), HASAB (a municipally owned corporation that manages Helsingborg Arena), HISO (organization of local sport clubs in Helsingborg) and FC Helsingborg (an elite floorball club playing and training at Helsingborg Arena). For this study, a stakeholder model has been applied together with theoretical concepts of utilization, localization and efficiency & productivity to create a theoretical framework. This case study is a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with key informants. Moreover, secondary data in reports and on websites connected to the different stakeholders have been analyzed and presented. Representatives have been interviewed from each organization and stakeholder in order to understand their view and perspective on usability with regard to Helsingborg Arena and Olympia. The results of this study presents an understanding that modern and new arenas create opportunities for more clubs to use advanced and better equipped venues for their activities and offers usability for other purposes than just sport-related activities. However, the results in this study shows us also that building new, modern sport arenas does not necessarily result in satisfactory usability for all actors. According to the results, the local clubs and schools tend to look for other sport venues due to the fact that they have to reschedule and change the venue for their activities when larger events occupy the arena. This leads to lower attractiveness for some stakeholders, which affects the usability of the arena. However, arenas of a high level increase attractiveness for producers and organizations to use the arenas for their products and competitions. Localization plays a decisive role for the accessibility of the sport arenas and creates a large sports oasis in the central of Helsingborg offering more than five sport halls at the same area. Keywords: usability, sport arenas, stakeholders, activity, accessibility, priority 6 Introduction In the last decades, there has been a boom in building and reconstruction of sports arenas, especially football arenas (Svensk elitfotboll, 2015). Building and reconstruction of arenas requires large investments and there are usually many stakeholders involved in the procedure, such as municipalities financed by the public by tax money (Coates & Humphfreys, 2003), but also sports organizations and private companies. Arenas are an interest for global companies and part of the globalization. English football arenas now have the name of Gulf- based corporate sponsors including the the Etihad Stadium of Manchester City and Emirates stadium of Arsenal, both sponsored by airlines beckoning European travelers to UAE as a tourist destination (Houlihan & Malcolm, 2015). Different types of stakeholders can have different visions and aims with regard to arena-projects and the usage of arenas. In Scandinavia, there is a high degree of state involvement concerning in the field of sport this is manifested by extensive government support to voluntary organizations in form of subsidies and publicly financed sport arenas and facilities (Bergsgrad & Norberg, 2010). When building new arenas, it is important to discuss the usage of the arena and and how society, the city and the sports community will benefit from it. Even though the building of the arenas may cause an economic deficit, the arenas can create values to the city and its citizens that make the investments worthwhile in the long run. There are many opportunities that arise with building an arena in a city. Often the arena can be an attraction for visitors and become a landmark and part of an identity for the city (Andersson, 2011). It can increase the amounts of events in the city (Greenwell, Danzey- Bussell & Shonk, 2020) and offer multiple indoor & outdoor sport halls for many different stakeholders such as sport clubs, schools and other sport related organizations. Modern sports arenas help to increase sports tourism globally which has become a phenomenon in itself (Greenwell, Danzey-Bussell & Shonk, 2020). Sport arenas and facilities are developed because they are competing for events with many other organizations and arenas (Greenwell, Danzey-Bussell & Shonk, 2020). At the same time, there are many providers such as municipal sport arena and facility providers, professional sport teams that would not see themselves as part of the sport tourism sector nor the tourism industry (Houlihan & Malcolm, 2015). These modern arenas can also be used for non-sport related events such as musical events and can thus reach out to other audiences as well which can be 7 seen as an income generator by the arena owners. It can also provide services to the local sport clubs that are not profit generators for the owners of the arenas. The construction of arenas requires strategies and plans for how the arenas shall be used once it is completed and what else can it be used for except sport events? Constructions of arenas for major sport events, i.eg. World Cup in football, costs billions of dollars (Coates & Humphreys, 2003; Alm, Tofft-Jorgensen, Brandt & Bang, 2012). When the event is over and the arena will not host any major events, large concerns arises due to the utilization of the arenas are not high enough and the expenses causes economic problems for arena owners (Alm, Tofft-Jorgensen, Brandt & Bang, 2012). This study will challenge the ideas of usability of sport arenas by creating an understanding of how different stakeholders, such as municipalities and owners of an arena and sport clubs and organizations that are using and the arenas, reflects regarding usability and what values they see when operating an arena. To understand the phenomenon of usability, it is important to analyze the participants (stakeholders) perspectives of usability and values of arenas. This study will also explore what opportunities and problems can be created with new and modern arenas and furthermore, provide ideas of what different stakeholders think of when making a decision to construct an arena, with regard to other stakeholders’ visions on values and usability of arenas. 8 Research aim and questions The aim of this study is to analyze, discuss and problematize the usability and localization of sport arenas and the values arenas provide for different stakeholders. The study is a multiple case study with focus on two big arenas in the city of Helsingborg – Olympia and Helsingborg Arena. The study consists of three main research questions: Research Question #1: What are are the arenas used for? This question relates to the understanding of in what ways the arenas are used and operated. Research Questions #2: How does the stakeholders reflect regarding the localization of the arenas? The aspect of the question is how the planning and localization of an arena affects the functionality of arenas. Research Questions #3: What values do the arenas bring to different stakeholders? This question relates to different