The Changing Landscape of Sport Facilities : Consequences for Practitioners and the Environment

• The environmental impact of sports facilities has received increasing attention over the last decades. However, studies within this area primarily deal with how the actual construction of sports facilities affects the environment. We know far less about how an active presence in sports facilities influences sporting practitioners’ thoughts about their own environmental impact. Therefore, this chapter critically discusses environmental issues connected to sports facilities generally and more specifically in relation to artificial sports facilities. We use several theoretical concepts to discuss the current research with examples taken from the artificial landscapes of cross-country skiing, canoe slalom, and turf-based sports. What makes artificial sports facilities especially interesting from an environmental perspective is the ambiguity they involve. On one hand, the actual constructions involve direct interventions in nature. On the other hand, there is a lack of knowledge about the impact these facilities have on health, environmental awareness, and travel. We argue that future sports facilities will need to stimulate more logic than competition if sport and outdoor recreation is to be environmentally sustainable. The process of sportification, which has prioritised the growth of sport economies and encouraged ever higher performance levels, would need to shift its focus to incorporate environmental concerns.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Idrottsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Sport and Fitness Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Sport facilities

artificial turf

environmental sustainability

performance

contextual sport

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)