Sport is a driver for a diverse range of businesses; from legal services to construction, media coverage to clothing and nutrition to Information Technology.

Over recent years, KKP has delivered a range of research studies to evaluate the impact of the sports sector on the wider economy, developing strategies to guide further improvements in this area at both a regional and local level.

The Sports Sector Strategy for the North West region (now at final draft stage), commissioned by the NWDA, incorporates comprehensive analysis of the sports sector, its economic impact and sub-regional geography combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. It will be used to support the forthcoming regional strategy for England's Northwest (RS2010).

In a separate commission, we undertook a detailed analysis of each of the region's 19 business sectors and groups that will also support the RS2010 Strategy. More information on this can be found at http://www.kkp.co.uk/news/economic-geography-north-west  

Lancashire has 2,020 sports businesses; which provide 19,335 jobs and generate an annual turnover of £1.2 billion. Sport accounts for 4.4% of Lancashire's businesses, 3.8% of its employees and 3.0% of its business turnover.

The size of the sport sector in Lancashire is slightly above regional averages for numbers of businesses and employees and it also has the largest proportion of outdoor sport businesses. Prior to the recent downturn in the economy, it had seen comparatively high growth rates in terms of both businesses and employees, however, the increase in turnover, while high, was below the regional sector average.

On the back of the evaluation of the northwest regional position and the forthcoming RS2010 report, Lancashire is keen to drill down further to understand how sport and physical activity contributes to the wider social and economic priorities in the County.

To this end, KKP has been commissioned by the Lancashire County Sports Partnership (LCSP) and partners to review existing information and conduct new research to confirm the current economic value, trends and significance of sport in the County. This will deliver:

• Practical recommendations and an action plan for economic and community wellbeing.
• Three and five year qualitative and quantitative forecasts of the (economic) value of the sports economy.

The project will examine a series of factors (e.g. business development/GVA, infrastructure, community development). They will be considered in a strategic and geographic context to provide a detailed understanding of how the topics are related and are able to impact on the local economy at all levels.

The examples shown above help to illustrate the wealth of knowledge and expertise KKP has amassed in this specialist area and demonstrate its value and importance.

In the current economic climate where we are facing increasing financial pressures on public and private sectors, a detailed understanding of the role that sport plays, and the contribution it makes, to the wider economic picture could be vital to protect future investment and growth in the sector. It is vital to recognise and measure its potential to catalyse local regeneration and provide a route into employment across a wide range of business activities.