Costs and Benefits of Hosting a Sports Event

Bringing a Major League Baseball A-League Team to an Area

Arranging for any event is usually a complex process for the planner with an intention of achieving a well balanced realization of the intended purposes. Any social event must be comprised of a number of targets in order for the planners to ensure that every aspect of the various areas involved is catered for in positive way. Gathering people for any form of social event is therefore an important social planning area that must comprehensively be considered. A good example can be captured in planning to host a Major League Baseball A-League team in a local setting to achieve certain social objectives. High profile athletes being involved in a sporting cum social event is an important gathering which involves certain considerations in terms of local government and the community at both the local and extended level. Defining the scope of the event to such a level must incorporate the specific costs and benefits which impact directly on the wellbeing of the society.

Social events need a clear analysis of the actual social consequences against the quickly anticipated social benefits after the gathering. Alternatively, economic deliberations must also be factored in an event to ensure that it is not only sustainable to host such gatherings but leave positive economic impacts for similar future engagements as well. Such considerations are performed during the overall impact assessment for a social event which involves an expansive aspect of a particular society as the main research question of this discourse illustrates (Lyck, 2006). According to the author, mega events for sports or any other gathering that the society becomes involved in have economic and social impacts which must be assessed in advance for the appropriate determination of viability in the respective perspective intended. In a similar manner, by hosting a superstars-filled team from the Major League Baseball A-League, the local community as well as the extended communities will be involved in a massive way due to the high profile guests. It follows that the authorities at the local setting must be involved at various levels to ensure that it is within the expected regulations to avoid a social problem.

Literature touching ion the effectiveness of planning of events and the social detail involved therein is currently available in a wide spectrum of perspectives. Sport is a common channel through which the community can be involved positively for both individual and community development (TSE Consulting, 2007). The local authorities will be involved in the arranging of the sports event since it affects the sport and sport policy at both the local and national level. According to Gratton and Henry (2001), sports are an important policy tools that the local and central governments can employ to formulate useful changes in the society such as positive behavior campaigns among the youths. Such policy tools are well considered by the authorities to ensure that positive impacts are experienced on the economy as well as on the social front. The UN (2005) has recognized the impact of sport for the wellbeing of the societies due to promotion of peace and coexistence among the participants. It therefore implies that the success of the event at a local event hosting high profile athletes will involve several people thereby achieving great socialization success. Both the local and the extended communities will partake in the event in some form of engagement due to the services needed in the venue. Gratton and Henry (2001) reckon that the integration aspect is an important element of sport for people near and far that passionately following the event. However, the consequences of such events such as unrests during such gathering must be avoided in order to ensure that other benefits such as economic gains do not override safety in unruly gatherings.

Perhaps some of the missing aspects of such events are on how to quantify risks in order to eliminate negative impacts of social events in case they turn out to be tarnished. Literature is available on how to quantify positive aspects of social events such as sports at various contexts but specific attention on how risk can be assessed is conspicuously missing (TSE Consulting, 2007, p18). Apparently, research would be most welcome particularly in terms of risk quantification with regard to various stakeholders to such events such as the government and the local and extended communities.

Social planning and management of events would well be served with information detailing the magnitude of positive and negative impacts of events and gatherings at various community levels. It is particularly an important social policy and strategy input to have the appropriate assessment of the costs and benefits of hosting any event involving the masses. Avoiding social crises would not necessarily be the main purpose of carrying out an assessment of the consequences but assist in making future events more successful and influential. The modern sociologist would take a keen following on the development of such topics since the social process takes different shapes under different circumstances. Finding out how social processes become beneficial and less harmful to the society would be the most important aspect of the planning involved in arranging such events.

References

Gratton, C. & Henry, I. P. (2001) Sport in the City: the role of sport in economic and social regeneration. London, UK; Routledge

Lyck, L. (2006) “Mega Sports Events” Retrieved from: HYPERLINK “http://openarchive.cbs.dk/bitstream/handle/10398/6631/working%20paper%205%20-%20megasports%20event.pdf?sequence=1” http://openarchive.cbs.dk/bitstream/handle/10398/6631/working%20paper%205%20-%20megasports%20event.pdf?sequence=1

TSE Consulting (2007) “Quantifying the Social Impacts of Hosting Sports Events,” Retrieved from: HYPERLINK “http://www.culturalwellbeing.govt.nz/files/Report%20on%20social%20impacts%20of%20hosting%20sporting%20events.pdf” http://www.culturalwellbeing.govt.nz/files/Report%20on%20social%20impacts%20of%20hosting%20sporting%20events.pdf

United Nations (2005) “International Year for Sport and Physical Education,” Retrieved from: HYPERLINK “http://www.un.org/sport2005/index.html” www.un.org/sport2005/index.html.