Sport as the Local Economic Game Changer

The great fanfare that greeted the awarding of the 2012 Olympics has given way to a few siren voices about the limited socio-economic legacy of this global event. Yet, identifying and measuring the socio-economic benefits from sport is complex and often not immediate. This occurs for a number of reasons, including:

• The complex interactions between infrastructure, events, local participation and spillovers between different economic sectors; and how this may be assessed;
• A tendency to investigate direct monetary benefits using a framework that underestimates the overall socio-economic contribution of sports;
• The stress on a hierarchy of large international events and national centres of excellence tends to assume a trickle-down contribution, especially in regard to increased participation.
• A tendency to focus on structure (infrastructure events, centres) rather than agency (transformation of localities through increased sports value-added; participation; social inclusion of marginal communities and enhanced overall community socio-economic well-being).

With the awarding of Milton Keynes as a venue for the 2015 World Cup these challenges now face the UK’s fastest growing sub-region. But where there are challenges there are opportunities, so that incorporating sport as a central component into an economic development strategy is crucial for the Milton Keynes City-Region.

This presentation addresses these issues in the context of the economic impact of sport based upon a study funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund, through the Open University. The approach adopted is a comprehensive one that links the capacities and capabilities of this dynamic sub-region by demonstrating how sport can be the local economic game changer.

Dr Leslie Budd's presentation: Sport as the Local Economic Game Changer

Interview with Dr Leslie Budd, Reader in Social Enterprise and John Cove, Chief Executive, Milton Keynes Dons FC Sport and Education Trust