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About the Major Sports Event Unit
Background Information
The Sheffield Major Sports Events Unit is part of Activity Sheffield in the Development, Environment and Leisure Directorate. It liaises closely with Governing Bodies of Sport and venues in Sheffield to deliver an annual programme of events, using a tried and tested strategy.
Before 1990 Sheffield had little involvement in major sporting events, and the Sports Development team dealt with the few that were hosted by Sheffield City Council.
In 1990, to test the facilities built for the World Student Games, a programme of sporting events was established. To organise these, and develop a Major Sports Events Programme for the future, the City Council appointed a Major Sports Events and Promotions Officer in 1990. It soon became obvious that one person could not deal with all aspects of event procurement, organisation and delivery, so a Major Sports Events Unit was suggested in late 1991.
The unit officially came into existence, initially with 3 members of staff, early in 1992 and the programme continued to develop, necessitating the appointment of additional people to the team. In 1993 an Operations Officer and an Administration Support Officer joined the team.
The structure remained the same until 1999 when an Events Operations Assistant was appointed, however, in 2003, reflecting a change in the emphasis of work, the post was removed from the structure.
After securing some external funding, a Major Participation Events and Promotions Officer was appointed at the end of 2003. A new, part time post, Events Operations and Promotions Assistant was created in 2005.
The function of the Unit
There are 2 primary functions:
- To attract National and International Events to Sheffield City Council
- To assist event owners with the effective operational delivery of their event
Also, in anticipation of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, organisations in Sheffield and the Yorkshire region are positioning themselves to generate as much benefit as possible from the opportunities the Games will bring to the UK.
One of these opportunities is to attract incoming international teams to use the city and region as a base for their preparation for the Games in London.
A small and experienced team, linked to the Major Sports Events Unit, is currently working on this project and for further details please go to the Sheffield - Lighting the Flame website.
The economic impact of Major Sports Events on Sheffield
General information is gathered from each event enabling its economic impact on the city to be evaluated. The Executive Summaries of the studies that have been completed since 1991 are included in an attachment at the bottom of the page. The full studies are available for reference, in the Arts, Social Science and Sports Library.
At some events, more detailed studies are carried out and reports produced. Unfortunately some of them were produced in paper format only and they were lost in the floods of 2007. Others have been produced electronically, so if you are doing some research please contact us to see if there is a relevant study available.
Sport and Venue Facts
Over the years the Major Sports Events Unit has developed a diverse programme of sporting events utilising many of the city’s sporting and non sporting facilities.
Since 1991 over 600 Major Sports Events have taken place in Sheffield with some of the National events being held in Sheffield on an annual basis. The International events are held in Sheffield less frequently as they are rotated around the world by the event owners.
The venues and sports that have been included in our programmes over the years are listed in an attachment at the bottom of the page.
Sheffield Major Sports Events Strategy
To provide direction, purpose and co-ordination when planning the events programme, the following aims and objectives have been established.
Aims:
- Change Sheffield’s image nationally
- Positively raise the city’s profile
- Show the city has a diverse economic base to attract inward investment
- Demonstrate that “Made in Sheffield” is still synonymous with quality
- Facilitate income for facility operators
- Help to stimulate and provide economic benefit to the local economy
- Involve local communities, giving ownership and a sense of pride in their city
- Link with Governing Bodies of sport and event promoters to establish Sheffield as a base for their events
Objectives:
- Work closely with UK Sport when dealing with International events
- Work with the region’s tourism service, Yorkshire South Tourism, to gain the maximum economic benefit to the city
- Ensure city profile is provided at all events
- Ensure city partners are engaged in the event process
- Provide opportunities for disabled sportsmen and women
- Encourage sports development initiatives linked to events
- Work with the event owners to ensure effective marketing of their event
- Work with the event owners to effectively deliver their event
- Ensure all events are delivered within budget
In line with the established aims and objectives of the Major Sports Events Unit, the event programme:
- Focuses on major sports events
- Predominantly includes National or International events
- Includes events for disabled sports people
- Includes some significant regional and city events
- Involves working with National Governing Bodies of Sport and International Federations (event owners)
- Consists of an average of 35-40 events per year
If you have a general enquiry, or would like to find out more about, please contact us.
Downloads
Executive Summaries from Economic Impact Studies since 1990 (85.5 KB)
The sports, venues and events dealt with by the Major Sports Events Unit since 1990 (38 KB)
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