Proposals to allow sports organisations to commercialise their venues, thus helping them become financially self-sufficient, is the aim behind a new White Paper.
Sports Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius said that if nothing was done about the situation, he feared that many associations would close down because they would not be able to afford certain expenses.
He said the White Paper made a number of recommendations promoting the regulation of commercial projects within sports facilities in Malta and Gozo.
The paper’s author, Chris Bonett, a sports lawyer, said that, since 1997, the government identified a system that allowed the transfer of public land to sports organisations for the practice of their sporting disciplines through a parliamentary resolution. The system was regularised in 2002, with the advent of the Sports Act. The law laid down that government-owned land could be passed to sports organisations registered with SportMalta through some form of legal title.
However, clauses in the contracts signed demanded that the land conceded could only be used for sporting purposes and that no financial gain could be made via any economic activity, with the exception of a canteen for members. In return, the contracts offered a hefty subsidy on the ground rent or rent payable, with concessions up to 98 per cent of the ground rent.
Tens of pieces of land have been handed over to local sports organisations under the system, particularly for football and aquatic sports. Such concessions helped sports organisations make considerable advances in the technical preparation of young athletes.
“Multi-purpose buildings, football stadiums and other similar sports venues are equipped to give priority to the fields of retail, accommodation and catering so that fans enjoy an all-inclusive experience. This economic activity generates a revenue stream, which means that the sports organisation running such a venue can re-invest the profits made in the training of its athletes and in the improvement of the training facilities,” Dr Bonett said.
The White Paper is open for public consultation until the end of March. Comments can be sent to sportsfacilities.mede@gov.mt.