ID253 Operate the Sports Centre commercially with private investment

The Idea

The Sports Centre has great potential with its space and facilities to generate revenue for the university, especially given the new and upcoming residential developments around Keele. It is also a vital resource in attracting new students, especially around the sports-related courses on offer. 

Although some cosmetic updates appear to have been made to the Sports Centre, it is ultimately a dated piece of infrastructure in need of modernisation or replacement. With significant capital investment from the university itself difficult to come by, it’s time to explore external, private investment. 

Operators exist who will provide investment to upgrade and maintain facilities, plus sell memberships commercially in return for a percentage of the revenue generated. This model can be run while preserving access to facilities for staff and students as appropriate, as per an agreed contract. 

Depending on the appetite for this model and the level of investment required, such agreements can run from as little as a few years right up to several decades.

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

Top class facilities are key to student attraction, this model would allow the university to upgrade a key piece of the student offer with significantly less capital investment than going it alone. 

Alongside this, operators would likely provide state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, which not only improve the commercial offer but could also link to teaching and learning through the ability to gather and analyse exercise data through connected fitness tracking services.  

Such arrangements often include a commitment from the operator to upgrade equipment every few years, which helps to keep the commercial offering competitive and would ensure that students and staff always have access to up-to-date facilities. 

How We Would Implement This Idea

The university could start by contacting potential operators to explore what’s possible and draw up a costed design, taking into account university and commercial use of the Sports Centre. Beyond that, this is something that would need to go out to tender to potential operators to ensure that the university gets the best possible solution and value for money. 

What Success Would Look Like

Success looks like a sports and fitness facility that we can be proud of. It should be a key asset in student attraction and match or surpass what’s available with our competitors. It should be available for staff and student activities as it is now but with under-occupancy significantly reduced through commercial operation. 

This should be achieved by leveraging as much external investment as possible by agreeing commercial terms that allow an operator to make a profit with Keele benefitting from significantly improved facilities.