Development of the Sports Facility Network

Turku has nearly 400 municipal sports facilities. The extensive and ageing network requires maintenance and updates in many respects, and the annual appropriations are not enough to implement everything. The sports facility network has significant update needs when several central sports facilities reach the end of their life cycle. The renovations and changes in the school network reduce the number of gyms and outdoor fields, making it more difficult to implement school sports and the activities of sports clubs.

• The City of Turku decided (section 67 of the Minutes of the City Council 11 April 2022) on the development policies for the sports facility network and the first executive decisions based on them for 2022–2024 (section 246 of the Minutes of the Sports Committee 30 May 2022).
• The development policies are based on the Sports Facility Network Update Plan, which is an update to the Sports Facility Plan 2029 service network report published in 2016.
• The development policies for the sports facility network based on the update plan create a framework on which future sports facility solutions will be made.
• The development of the sports facility network is part of the City of Turku’s Mayor’s Programme for 2021–2025.

As part of the development policies of the sports facility network, a reform of the sports grant system and the pricing of municipal sports facilities has been created. The new grant system and pricing model take into account the users of the sports facility network and its development as a whole. With the help of the new grant system, the sports facility network will be developed through cooperation between the public, private and third sectors by creating sports facilities for new sports and groups of people doing sports and by updating the current sports environments for both guided sports training and independent physical activities.

The objective of the reform is to

• Control the increase in the costs of hobbies
• Support different sports and people doing sports more equally than at present
• Make the use of sports facilities more efficient
• Standardise municipal sports facilities’ payment practices in sports club and association activities
• Develop the sports facility network in a versatile manner and to a very high standard, focusing on user-orientation and regional sports facilities

Progress in developing the sports facility network

The sports facility network is being developed constantly. The City of Turku has ongoing projects, both large and small, that will make the sports facility network more functional and engaging and of a higher standard.

The environments for physical activity will improve in the coming years as, for example, the following projects progress:

• Sports hall built in connection with the Karhunaukio Comprehensive School
• Sports hall built in connection with the Linnakaupunki Multi-purpose Centre
• Gym built in connection with the Perno-Pansio Multi-purpose Centre
• Gym built in connection with the Suikkila School
• Gym built in connection with the St. Olofsskolan School
• Gym built in connection with the Luolavuori School
• Gym built in connection with the Turun Lyseo School
• Gym built in connection with the Pääskyvuori School
• Kupittaa Outdoor Swimming Arena
• Lauttaranta Sports Park

Read more about the progress in developing the sports facility network: Pillars of decision-making

Pricing reform for the use of municipal sports facilities

Starting points

At the moment, the support provided by the city is not equal for different sports and people doing sports.

• The city cannot offer sports environments for all sports: The city has sports facilities for 45 sports. For 17 sports, the city does not have a sports facility. Some sports use private or club-owned facilities.
• Some sports use the city’s sports facilities free of charge for the activities of those under the age of 20, while others pay for the facilities.
• Up until 2022, the city supported the use of private or club-owned sports facilities for certain sports by approx. 50% and other sports by approx. 5–10%.  From 2023 onwards, the support will be approximately 50% for all sports.

Content and objectives of the reform

As it is not financially possible for the city to build new sports environments for all current and future sports or to support the use of private and club-owned sports facilities by 100%, the aim is to promote equality through pricing and assistance. At the same time, the pricing practices of sports club and association activities will be standardised.

 

The objective of the reformed pricing model is to

• Control the increase in the costs of hobbies
• Take users of different sports environments into account fairly and more equally that at present
• Make the use of sports environments more efficient
• Standardise payment practices in sports club and association activities

Pricing of sports facilities from 1 January 2025 onwards

• Time slots for those under the age of 7 are free of charge.
• The central idea in pricing the use of sports facilities for those aged 7–19 is that the rent for high-quality, full-scale sports facilities is approximately 30% of the rent for a corresponding sports facility at market price. Rents for sports facilities with lower level of equipment, size or location will be staggered to the lowest level so that some of these sports facilities will also remain free of charge for those aged 7–19.
• Rents for sports facilities for those over 20 years of age remain in line with the current price list or are synchronised with the pricing of time slots for those aged 7–19, depending on the sports facility.

The 30% price level is based on the City Council’s policy on reimbursement grants for training facilities (section 249, 12 December 2022). According to the policy, the use of private and club-owned sports facilities will be supported with a grant of approximately 70% from 2025 onwards. This means that the sports club/association will pay approximately 30% of the cost, which is the same as the price of the city’s corresponding sports facility.

Sports environments without market-priced reference points have been priced in a way that they are in line with the city’s other similar sports facilities. In sports environments for which it is not appropriate to use an hourly rental fee, the fee is paid per season or per visit. Prices per season and per visit have been formulated using background calculations that take into account, for example, the calculatory costs for persons doing different sports. Pricing of the use of sports facilities for those aged 7–19 is based on the 30% principle.

The market prices of sports facilities are regularly reviewed and, if necessary, updates are made to pricing