The 2013 Sports Club Survey has highlighted an emerging trend of grassroots sports clubs spending considerably more on energy bills, business rates and facility maintenance in recent years, whilst reducing average fees and providing great value to more members.
Figures show that the average facility hiring or long-term leasing club spent £6,570 on outdoor facility maintenance in 2012, a 33% increase compared to what they spent in 2011.
Clubs also spent 23% more on indoor facility maintenance, 38% more on water rates, 19% more on gas, 10% more on electricity and 20% more on business rates in 2012 compared to 2011.
This comes as 41% of clubs said that financial sustainability was a challenge they were currently concerned about or likely to face in the next two years.
From 2007 to 2012, club income increased by 6% while expenditure increased by 14%, showing that clubs are still not as financially healthy as they were in 2007 before the UK economic recession.
Tim Lamb, chief executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance said:
“Club spending increases reflect the general financial pinch that’s being felt by many out there as the cost of living, particularly energy prices, rise whilst wages stay stagnant.
"The figures also suggest that in recent years there has been a need for clubs to use a large proportion of their income to modernise facilities that may have been getting tatty or even falling into disrepair.”
Clubs keeping membership fees low
In spite of clubs’ increased financial pressures, the Alliance’s report also highlights how clubs have been working hard not to pass these cost increases on to their members and continue to deliver outstanding value for money.
Lamb said: “For the average club, the participating adult annual membership fee has increased by only £8 (11%) since 2008 and actually decreased by 3.9% in 2012 compared to 2011.
"Clubs have been making themselves affordable at a time when their members have been experiencing cost of living rises in other areas of their lives. They also kept themselves attractive and accessible to new members over the Games period.”
Membership levels on the rise
Keeping membership fees low seems to have had a positive effect on membership levels, with clubs experiencing a 21% increase in adult memberships since 2011.
Lamb said: “This is the first time there has been an upward trend in membership figures since 2007 which is really promising, although there is still a need for caution. Adult membership levels are still below what they were in 2007 and junior membership levels have only risen by a modest 8.4% since 2007.
"But all in all, clubs have been doing a fantastic job in driving up participation over the Games period and beyond. Clubs play such a vital role in their local communities in terms of getting people healthy and active, keeping them happy, reducing crime and encouraging social cohesion.
"This is why things like local authority rate relief and tax breaks for clubs are vital. They take the financial pressure off clubs so that they can focus on the important stuff – growth and increasing participation in sport and physical activity.”
Read the Sports Club Survey 2013
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