Successfully advancing municipal sports infrastructure

Advert by IAKS member BPM Sports
 

The Swiss municipality of Lyss demonstrates how municipal sports infrastructure can be developed sustainably, despite population growth, shifting sporting habits, and limited public funds. The strategy process, led by BPM Sports, combines strong local ­anchoring with targeted regional functions, focusing on bundled usage, upgrading existing sites, and promoting low-threshold physical activity offerings.

The strategy rests on seven pillars:

• Prioritizing local basic provision – needs of residents, schools, and clubs come first; regional events remain a complement.
• Establishing a sports cluster – consolidating indoor sports, aquatics, and outdoor facilities at one site generates opera­tional synergies and higher utilization.
• Aligning school and sports planning – rising student numbers are a key capacity driver, requiring close coordination between sectors.
• Responding flexibly to sports trends – individual and informal physical activity is gaining in importance.
• Utilization before expansion – intensify the use of existing facilities, e.g. through the application of synthetic turf, rather than constructing new ones.
• Securing long-term affordability – investments are ­phased over time.
• Consistent, step-by-step implementation – functional deficits are addressed first, followed by expansion and new construction.

Planning sustainable sports infrastructure rests on four core principles: needs orientation, multi-use, site consolidation, and financial viability.

We’d be happy to share our expertise with your municipality as well.