Build Community Sports Facilities in Every City and District

For millions of Indians, particularly children and young people, participation in organized sport is limited by something very basic: there is often nowhere convenient and affordable to play.

As cities expand, open spaces and playing fields face increasing pressure from development. Existing government stadiums and sports complexes may be too few, too distant, poorly maintained, or designed primarily for competitions rather than everyday community use.

Without widespread access to playgrounds, courts, tracks, swimming facilities, and other basic sports infrastructure, India cannot develop a broad culture of sport. This affects physical fitness and recreation, limits the pool from which sporting talent can emerge, and constrains the development of India’s sports economy.

Make local governments responsible for ensuring adequate community sports infrastructure, while using competitive private companies to build, operate, and maintain facilities wherever practical.

Cities and districts should prepare Community Sports Infrastructure Plans based on population, geography, existing facilities and local demand.

The framework should:

– Establish minimum standards for access to community sports facilities based on population and distance.
– Require local governments to identify and protect land for playgrounds, sports fields and recreation facilities.
– Prioritize multipurpose facilities that can support several sports rather than expensive single-purpose stadiums.
– Contract qualified private companies through transparent competitive bidding to design, build, operate and maintain facilities.
– Use performance-based contracts with measurable standards for maintenance, cleanliness, safety, operating hours, availability and public satisfaction.
– Allow operators to generate reasonable commercial revenue through memberships, coaching, tournaments, food services, sponsorships and other appropriate activities while preserving affordable public access.
– Establish transparent user charges, with subsidized or free access for children and lower-income residents where appropriate.
– Introduce digital booking systems so individuals, schools, clubs and teams can easily reserve facilities.
– Publish facility utilization, maintenance performance, complaints and contract performance.
– Open suitable school, college and other government sports facilities to communities outside institutional hours where practical.

Local government should therefore be responsible for planning, standards, land, contracts and accountability. Professional private operators should compete to build, manage and maintain the facilities efficiently.

This model combines public accountability with private-sector operating capability.

Local governments are best positioned to understand where facilities are needed and to ensure that sports infrastructure forms part of urban and district planning. Competitive private operators can bring professional facility management, maintenance expertise, technology and commercial discipline that can prevent public sports assets from deteriorating after construction.

Performance-based contracts also create accountability. If an operator fails to maintain facilities, meet accessibility requirements or provide the agreed level of service, payments can be withheld, penalties imposed, or the contract competitively reassigned.

Australia provides a useful example. Local governments play an important role in providing community sporting and recreation infrastructure, while councils can use external contractors and facility-management arrangements for construction, maintenance and operation. The broader Australian model demonstrates how accessible local facilities can support widespread community participation and a strong sporting ecosystem.

For India, the objective should not simply be to construct more stadiums. It should be to create thousands of well-used, professionally managed community sporting facilities where people can play every day.

The government should ensure the facilities exist and remain accessible. Private companies should compete to build and operate them. Performance should determine who continues to serve the community.