Southern Culture
Did You Know?
Aeroplanes
The oldest licensed airfield in the UK is at Shoreham
Economic vitality and workforce development
Sport can contribute to economic vitality and workforce development by:
- providing direct employment and contributing to economic output through sports businesses and services
- acting as a catalyst for investment and regeneration
- assisting in developing a positive image and improving the attractiveness of an area for business investment, and as a place to live, work and visit
- improving the skills and qualifications of the workforce, both for employment in the sport and cultural sector and in other industries
- helping to reduce the cost to the economy of workforce absence due to ill health.
Sport is a powerful tool to enhance the physical fabric of communities, to stimulate the local economy, and to improve its image with outside investors and tourists. The sports and leisure sector and its supporting industries are significant employers and contributors to the economy. Over 400,000 people are estimated to be employed in sports related activities in England, which represents just under 2 per cent of all employment (2.25 per cent in the South East). Sport related employment provides households in England with £5.8 billion in disposable income, just over one per cent of total household disposable income.
The development of new sports facilities can act as a catalyst for other regeneration and investment. At a local level, the provision of new sports facilities adds to the desirability of the location as somewhere to live and can send out a message that growth and investment is taking place in the area.
Sports activities and events of local, regional or national significance bring benefits to the town or city in which they are taking place, through the expenditure made by the event organisers and by participants and visitors, including officials, media representatives and spectators.