Zhang Shuguang The Development of Community Sports Facilities in China: Effects of the Olympic Games Zhang Shuguang China Sport Information Center, Beijing, P.R. China With the influences of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games, Chi- nese, sports researchers, sports administrators and sports management departments have been study- ing how to develop community sports facilities in China. Learning from the experiences of the London organizing committee about handling Olympic legacies, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau and the Tianjin Municipal Sports Bureau have made development plans for community sports facilities according to their cities’ own characteristics. For example, the Tianjin Municipal Sports Bureau has established the Tianjin Public Sports Facilities Plan (2010-2020). Tianjin will establish the public sports facility network at the regional, municipal, district, town, and community levels. The Tianjin urban planning department is responsible for solving land problems, while all levels of governments are in charge of constructing sports facilities. The Tianjin sports administrative departments focus on increasing sports participation by managing these sports facilities. Over the past three years, Tianjin has constructed more than 90 Sports Parks, renewed over 4500 Fitness Parks, and constructed sports facilities for 60 County Sports and Entertainment Service Centers. The Olympic Games not only increase mass sports participation, but also make sports administrative departments understand the role of sports facilities in the development of sports for all programs. At present, sports administrators and sports management departments in China are implementing the National Fitness Program, which has prioritized the construction of more sports facilities near the communities. ❖ This study analyzes the effects of the Olympic Games on the development of community sports facil- ities in China. The paper will consist of a literature review and a comparative analysis. The Olympic Games not only increase mass sports participation, but also make sports administrative departments understand the role of sports facilities in the development of sport for all. For example, in 2003, the Beijing Municipality launched the Beijing Olympic Movement Plan. In 2004, the city held sport for all activities, including the National Fitness Festival, the Publicity Week on National Fitness, and the Olympic Culture Festival, in which millions of people took part, including workers, students, women, elderly people and rural participants. In 2006, the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau constructed 200 National Fitness facilities. According to a 2011 survey conducted by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau, the percentage of Beijing citizens who often took part in physical exercises increased from 11.5% in 1995 to 49.1% in 2010. Furthermore, 87% of Beijing citizens put health in the first place in 2011.1 Presently, sports administrators and sports management departments in China are implement- 119 The Development of Community Sports Facilities in China 120 ing the National Fitness Program and the main part of their work is to construct more sports facilities near communities. Background Over the last three decades, Chinese sports researchers, sports administrators and sports management departments have studied the construction and operation of sports facilities. According to the Report on the Operation Mode and Economic Efficiency of Sports Facilities, released in 2012 by General Administration of Sport of China, 96.6% of Chinese sports facilities do no generate revenue.2 There are different ideas about how to construct and operate sports facilities. To date, no ideal way to oper- ate sports facilities has been found. High performance-oriented sports policies continue to influence the development of sports and the investment of resources. For some, sport for all (or recreational sport participation) appears contrary to competitive sport, and it includes non-Olympic sport. Some sports administrators continue to pay more attention to competitive sports, and consequently, less is invested in sport for all programs. For example, social organizations are less involved in the construc- tion and operation of sports facilities. However, after learning from the experiences of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) and the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) regarding Olympic legacies, it is argued that Chinese sports researchers, sports administrators and sports management departments have made significant progress in the development of community sports facilities in China. Since the 1980s, Chinese sports researchers, sports administrators and sports management depart- ments have been studying how to develop community sports facilities in China. The Beijing Munici- pal Sports Bureau and the Tianjin Municipal Sports Bureau learned from the experiences of BOCOG and LOCOG, have made development plans for community sports facilities according to the charac- teristics of the respective cities. For example, the Tianjin Municipal Sports Bureau has developed the Tianjin Public Sports Facilities Plan (2010-2020), which aims to establish a public sports facility net- work at the regional, municipal, district, town, and community levels. The Tianjin urban planning department is responsible for solving zoning problems, while various levels of governments are in charge of constructing sports facilities. Tianjin sports administrative departments focus on increasing sports participation by managing these sports facilities. Over the past three years, Tianjin has con- structed more than 90 Sports Parks, renewed over 4500 Fitness Parks, and constructed sports facilities for 60 County Sports and Entertainment Service Centers.3 Problems for Developing Sports Facilities in China The lack of scientific planning Due to the effects of the Beijing Olympic Games, there has been a significant participation increase in exercise programs in Chinese communities, parks and squares. Furthermore, according to a report by He Jingtang and Sun Yimin (School of Architecture, and Research Institute of Architecture Design, South China University of Technology, respectively), many Chinese municipal administrators are building large sports venues as landmark projects.4 They are so eager to gain political prestige that they continue to build sports venues without proper scientific planning, defined positions and clear construction plans. On one hand, people need more sports facilities. On the other hand, administra- tors make independent choices based on the scale of sports venues without proper parameters and design decisions in place. Duplicate facilities unhealthy competition hinder the sustainable develop- ment of sports facilities in China. For example, there are five large-scale sports venues (i.e. 20,000 The Development of Community Sports Facilities in China 121 seats, or more) in Guangzhou, including Tianhe Stadium (60,000 seats), Olympic Stadium (80,000 seats), Yuexiu Mountain Stadium (20,000 seats), Huangpu District Stadium (20,000 seats) and Guang- zhou College Town Center Stadium (50,000 seats). Moreover, in Guangzhou College Town – an area of less than 20 square kilometers - there are more than 20 stadiums and eight gymnasiums through- out the universities and colleges, not including Guangzhou College Town Center Stadium. The lack of scientific management In China, most sports venues belong to public institutions and schools (or colleges). These institutions do not pay attention to revenues as their operational costs come from government subsidies.5 Poor management, inadequate marketization and overstaffing within these institutions have some sports administrators believing that restructuring management is the only way to solve such problems. Some sports management departments wish to increase revenues by holding cultural and recreational activ- ities and commercial performances. Nevertheless, these individuals do not always realize how important scientific management teams are in the operation of sports venues. The lack of professionals with operational capabilities In China, most sports venues run deficits every year. Besides the lack of scientific management, the lack of professionals with operational capabilities is the main reason why they do not generate signif- icant revenue. Take naming rights, for example—few sports venues in China make full use of their naming rights. Those sports venues operated by colleges or schools seldom sell their naming rights. Sports venues such as Laoshan Velodrome are operated by the General Administration of Sport of China or local government departments. They are high performance-oriented and their operational costs are mainly funded by government subsidies. Consequently, few managers focus their attention on the marketing or naming rights. Single-source investments Municipal Chinese governments are the main investors in sports facilities. Over 80% of the investment of sports facilities comes from governments or public institutions.6 Due to the lack of pol- icy support, there is minimal private capital invested in the construction of sports facilities. Some sports administrators feel that if private capital is invested in the construction and operation of sports facilities, state owned property might be drained, as sports facilities remain state owned property. Moreover, the system of capital reward in Chinese sports facilities needs to be improved. Limited