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For several years, sport-for-development (SFD) programs have been implemented around the world to make a positive difference for disadvantaged or underprivileged communities. Within this context, special events have been used to complement regular development activities to celebrate social, cultural, and sporting achievements. To date, little managerial work has been conducted on the specific contributions that special events can play in the context of ongoing SFD endeavors. In addressing this issue, this paper presents findings from an empirical investigation of a participatory SFD event in the Pacific Islands. Findings suggest that special events can create new interest and excitement for SFD activities, reengage stakeholders to the wider SFD program, leverage partnerships, and provide opportunities to build and shape local management capacity. In discussing these findings, the paper highlights potential positive and negative impacts of special SFD events and provides practical and theoretical implications for SFD program design, management, and leverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an increasing emphasis on the social value of sport and events, there has been a shift in focus regarding the management and development process of event projects as well as their associated outcomes. This shift is about emphasizing a more strategic approach to developing social benefits by recognizing and utilizing leverageable resources related to sport events as a means of fostering lasting social and economic change (Chalip, 2006; O'Brien & Chalip, 2007; Schulenkorf & Edwards, 2012). In this paper, we adapt and apply the asset-based community development (ABCD) approach as a means of developing a more action-oriented, community-based approach to leveraging the social assets of sporting events. In applying the ABCD approach, we aim to shift the focus of event-led projects away from attempts to "solve" social problems (i.e., deficit perspective) to enhancing the existing strengths of communities (i.e., strengths perspective). We reflect on case study findings that highlight the challenges and opportunities in realizing an ABCD approach for disadvantaged communities through an examination of a healthy lifestyle community event initiative in the Pacific Islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has examined how sports events and sport-for-development projects can create, sustain, and maximize positive social impacts for local communities. This article takes this debate forward by arguing that the cultivation of safe space is a key ingredient of sport-for-development management and community event leverage. Safe space is conceptualized as a multidimensional process that involves physical, psychological/ affective, sociocultural, political, and experimental dimensions. Drawing on empirical findings from Sri Lanka, Israel, and Brazil, the article shows how these dimensions of safe space operate and interact in practice, and identifies practical strategies that sport managers, policymakers, and practitioners can use to cultivate safe spaces in and through sports projects and events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global, national and regional sport organizations heavily rely on logistics management practices in their operations. However, scientific research in sports logistics is in its infancy, with conceptualizations of the sport logistics domain proposed only recently. In response and by using a reoccurring professional sport event as a case, this study applies the Sports Logistics Framework (SLF) to systematically assess logistics activities, organizational structures, resources and components. Based on semi-structured interviews, unstructured participant observation, internal documents and additional secondary data, our findings not only provide insights into the logistics operations behind a matchday of one of the leading and most valuable sport competitions in the world, but also contextualize, illustrate and refine the logistical tasks of the SLF, thereby providing a template which can be used for further comparison and examination of logistics activities at similar sport events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although logistics management is a crucial part of local and global sports events, there is no research-driven characterization of "sports logistics management". The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a framework that allows for a more structured recognition of logistics in sports, in general, and sport event management, in particular. In addition, we conduct a systematic literature review of sports logistics management and locate opportunities for future research both for sports management and logistics management scholars. Design/methodology/approach: Guided by Durach et al.'s (2017) systematic literature review approach, we identify key attributes and characteristics of sports logistics management. These are based on studies featuring at least partial aspects of logistics management in sports and sport events, and that were published between 2000 and mid-2019. Findings: The study reveals that sports logistics management – meaning logistics activities in sports and sport event management – is a heavily under-researched area that provides an abundance of scientific opportunities. Based on the three sport event types of local/regional sport events, major sport events and mega sport events, the authors propose four sports logistics management pillars that are central to the proposed Sport Logistics Framework: venue logistics management, sports equipment logistics management, athletes logistics management, and fan and spectators logistics management. Practical implications: By providing a conceptual framework for sports logistics, the authors progress towards informing the sport sector on relevant strategic and operational levels of logistics management and set the stage for empirical studies that are likely to advance sport logistics planning and management. Originality/value: This is the first study that builds on a systematic review of literature specifically focused on the logistics aspect in sports and sport event management. It provides a conceptual framework of sports logistics management and offers an agenda of future research opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on the evidence of social impacts generated by sport events, there is a need for research to identify strategies suitable for maximizing event benefits for disparate interest communities. This paper investigates the opportunities and strategic means for sustaining and leveraging social event benefits arising from intercommunity sport events in the ethnically divided Sri Lanka. Following an interpretive mode of inquiry, findings are derived from the analysis of two focus groups and 35 in-depth interviews with Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim and international event stakeholders. To maximize event benefits, findings suggest that event organizers and host communities focus strategically on children as catalysts for change; increase ethnically mixed team sport activities; provide event-related sociocultural opportunities; combine large-scale events with regular sport-for-development programs; and engage in social, cultural, political and educational event leverage. By implementing these strategies and tactics, intercommunity sport events are likely to contribute to local capacity building and inclusive social change, which can have flow-on effects to the wider community. These findings extend the academic literature on strategic event planning, management and leverage, as they provide a focus on community event leverage for social purposes in a developing world context--an area which has thus far received limited empirical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question: When managed strategically, sport events have the capacity to generate economic, sociocultural, and health-related benefits for host communities. To date, the majority of academic research has focused on the impact components of large-scale and mega-sport events, such as the Olympic Games. In an attempt to provide empirical evidence of management strategies and tactics related to small-scale events, the purpose of this study was to examine how an event business strategically manages and leverages an event to sustain its commercial viability, while focusing on generating social benefits for the community. Research methods: Through the lens of sport-for-development theory and event leverage concepts, we explore the case of an annual, mass participation sporting event on the island of Spetses, Greece. Against the background of financial hardship and subsequent social disparity in the country, our qualitative investigation includes 19 semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders of the Spetses Mini Marathon. Results and findings: Outcomes of the qualitative analysis indicated three main thematic categories: (a) managing context, (b) engaged change agent, and (c) involved community. In the midst of an economic crisis, the change agent managed to secure the commercial sustainability of the event, while generating several social, cultural, economic, and sporting benefits for the local community through a participatory community approach. Implications: In discussing our findings, we provide implications for strategic management and leverage of local sport events, and we highlight opportunities and challenges for maximizing the reputational capital for organizers as well as social benefits for communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, special events have played an important role as strategic elements within commu- nity development. However, to date little work has been conducted on how to maximize the social potential of special events in low- and middle-income countries. In addressing this issue, we reflect on event management processes and leverage mechanisms that have underpinned a community sport event in the Pacific Island nation of Sāmoa, and identify strategies for maximizing beneficial event outcomes. We present findings related to previously identified leverage areas, including sociocultural and participatory leverage, and also suggest new areas that seem particularly relevant in the context of community development, including educational, health-related, and reputational leverage. Finally, key challenges and opportunities for event managers and local communities are discussed, implica- tions for event leverage are provided, and areas for future research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Events legacies have become a common feature in the public policy rhetoric surrounding sport events of all sizes. Public policy planners and event organizers are increasingly promoting the legacies of sport events to justify significant investments required to host them. Within the context of special events, legacy is most often recognized as the long-term or permanent outcomes for a host city from staging an event. These outcomes include potential economic, tourism, social, physical, and/or environmental factors. However, the justification of legacies from events remains complicated due to inconsistent conceptualizations of legacy across academic and industry practice. While legacy is an increasing component of event bids as well as funding justifications and postevent reports, the concept itself has attracted limited critical analysis. This article puts forth a comprehensive review of literature that has sought to define legacy, from 1991-2008, drawing on event management, sport management, and urban planning contexts. An inductive interpretive analysis of definitions was undertaken, in which key considerations were identified and definitions assessed against these. The analysis revealed five key considerations of legacy in application to the sport event management context. In doing so, this article contributes to both theoretical debate and improved strategic practice surrounding the emergence of "legacy" as justification for staging sport events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the growth of sport-for-development (S4D) programs globally because they give important benefits to disadvantaged communities. It explains why the S4D initiatives have increased rapidly around the word, citing the creation of the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace in 2001. It argues that initiatives ranging from one-day sport events to decade-long sport programs combining under the S4D definitional banner give significant challenges for academics and practitioners trying to evaluate, compare and learn from different projects.

The area of sport event tourism has been growing over the past decade, which has led to an increasing amount of research on both the economic and social impacts of sport events. Whereas a substantial number of ex post assessment frameworks for event evaluation is available, there is growing demand for process-orientated ex ante frameworks that guide the strategic study of social utility of events. To address this issue, this paper presents a framework suitable for theoretical and practical research in the area of inter-community sport events. It combines the areas of community participation, intergroup relations, social identity and event impacts in a process towards generating social development within and among communities. The ex ante framework is designed to support the strategic investigation of inter-community sport events and their contribution to social capital, social change and capacity building, and ultimately the enhancement of communities’ quality of life.Tourism and Hospitality Research (2009) 9, 120–131. doi:10.1057/thr.2009.2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a response to the increasing threat to sport events from climate change and expectations around climate change mitigation, sport event managers increasingly engage in environmentally-related initiatives that aim to reduce GHG emissions. One of the major contributors to GHG emissions at large sport events is spectators' travel and, thus, their associated modal choices. Building on the Sport Logistics Framework (SLF) and using the case study of Rapid Vienna, the largest football club in Austria, this study investigates spectators' modal choice to systematically assess the total GHGs emitted by spectators at a professional football home game. Data was obtained from two sources: a) an extensive data set collected on Rapid Vienna season ticket holders, and b) three surveys at home games which, together, constituted 3317 valid responses. The calculation of the GHG emissions resulted in 99,548 kg GHG emissions per home game or 6.0 kg GHG emissions per spectator. It was also found that 42.4 per cent spectators arriving by car emit 71.6 per cent of GHG emissions, while in contrast, 52.8 per cent of spectators using public transport emit 27.1 per cent of GHG emissions. The results also indicate that the possession of an annual public transport ticket seems to determine travel behavior, i.e. the majority of spectators with an annual ticket are using it, while spectators without a ticket are using a car. As such, this paper not only provides an opportunity for academics and managers to benchmark the data in order to identify initiatives to reduce the impact of GHG emissions, but also allows for the systematic measuring of the environmental impact of fan and spectator travel. • Fan travel to professional football games is a major contributor to GHG emissions. • We assess fans' modal choices and their carbon footprint at a football home game. • The home game emits a total 99,548 kg GHG emissions or 6.0 kg GHG emissions per fan. • We found that 42.4% fans arriving by car emit 71.6% of GHG emissions. • The study allows for benchmarking and systematic measuring of fan travel behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]