In professional sport in North America you usually don’t think of the facility driving awareness programs, it is usually more the teams or the athletes. The stadiums and facilities do promote programs specific to the event, “Don’t Drank and Drive” etc., but it is really not incumbent on the building for wide reaching programs for the community.
However across Europe, the platform is different, and the stadia, many times are at the center of the the hub of city life. That gives the facility itself more of a factor in community itself, and a unique program was spawned to help those stadia, as well as the players and clubs who use them, work together for joint awareness. The European Healthy Stadia Network enables facilities, not just clubs, to work together on wide-reaching initiatives throughout their community, with programs ranging from smoking and tobacco control to hooliganism and healthy living and eating. The programs give facilities a chance to build loyalty in the communities where they reside for those who live and work in the area, and are much more apt to partake in messaging programs when events are not filling the facilities. The stadia share best practices as to what programs get the best response in their communities, and are able to see a direct tie to better working and living conditions in and around the facility. The fact that so many facilities are in urban settings throughout Europe makes the program more efficient than in the States, where often times mega stadiums are set off from the area where most fans live and work. By being a central hub of activity in cities, the facilities themselves take on a larger role of leadership, and this program helps make that leadership position flourish. Well executed, well thought out and a great platform to help those around.
