Play the Game Home / Knowledge Bank / Subjects


Click here to return to list of keywords on Play the Game website

Public financing


The Olympics: Too big for democracies?

09 July 2012

If the size of the Olympics are not reduced, they may become awarded only to rich and authoritarian regimes in the future. Professor Jean-Loup Chappelet, sports governance expert at IDHEAP in Lausanne, analyses the risks of...[more]


How many people can the Olympic Rings hold? The issue of gigantism has been on the agenda for decades, but the games keep growing. Photo: SurreyNews/Flickr


London's 2012 Olympic stadium likely to become the next 'White Elephant'

04 October 2011

“We’re breeding white elephants. There are herds of them”, a leading stadium consultant has told Play the Game. Ian Nuttall, a consultant at stadiumbusiness.com, was referring to the underused mega-stadiums that are the legacies...[more]


Ian Nuttal talking critical about the legacies surrounding sports buildings. Photo by Tine Harden


World Cup afterthoughts

16 July 2010

The party is over and the World Cup has left South Africa, and generally the reviews have been very good. FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, praised South Africa’s efforts in hosting this year’s World Cup by giving them nine out of 10.[more]


The seats are empty and the World Cup is over, but who can be declared the real winner? South Africa? Or FIFA? Photo (c) by Flickr user Shine 2010 - 2010 World Cup good news. Used under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.


Sport Financing: European Model Facing a Risky Future?

30 March 2009

This article is a resume of a study carried out by Amnyos Group for the French Ministry of Sport. It provides an overview of the structure of sports financing in EU and recommendations in regards to securing the financing of...[more]




Taxpayers and residents will pay dearly for Sochi Winter Games

26 May 2008

In 2014, the Russian resort of Sochi will host the Winter Olympics. But already this mega-event looks set to cost Russian taxpayers more money than the combined costs of the last three Winter Olympics, and up to 4,000 local...[more]




Major Sporting events: Are they worth the money?

30 November 2005

Huge sporting events are a break from every day life. But they are expensive. Event organisers understimate the costs and exaggerate the revenues for the event and for the host country, says Harry Arne Solberg of the Trondheim...[more]




The Struggle for a Sports Life

01 July 2003

Sport Management in Eastern Europe, especially in Hungary As indicated below, sport management was not adopted in the former socialist countries until a few years ago. Before the change of regime, western management theories...[more]




Sports Financing in Europe - Towards a Transformation in the 21st Century

19 June 1997

The first part of the paper is based on a research on the economic importance of sport in Europe. The second part dwells upon the restructuring of sport finance which can be observed in several European countries.[more]




The Civic Price of Building Stadiums in the US


Based on a study of the economic impact of hosting professional sports teams in 37 US cities, the authors conclude that professional sports generally have little, if any, positive effect on a city's economy.[more]