Overview of current supply and demand
5.1 Belfast has 276 playing pitches across 97 sites. While the majority of these facilities are available for community use, ownership and management are split across a range of sectors including council, education and private providers.
5.2 We manage and operate 131 playing pitches across 28 sites across Belfast. In addition, we provide:
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24 synthetic pitches, managed by our leisure provider GLL
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13 pitches that are leased or managed under a facility agreement with local sports clubs, and
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39 multi-use games areas (MUGAs), managed by us and used for a variety of sports including soccer, basketball, tennis, netball, and Gaelic football.
5.3 The findings of the demand and supply analysis for soccer and Gaelic games is illustrated in Table 4. These figures represent the best possible assessment, given the limited publicly available accessible data and the challenges in obtaining complete data from clubs, leagues and the wide range of public, private and community sector providers. Demand estimates are based primarily on club audit returns and have been supplemented, where necessary, using the knowledge of internal subject matter experts to address gaps in dada submissions. Supply estimates are based on our facility data and an extensive city-wide mapping exercise undertaken to identify and assess the availability of facilities across Belfast.
Table 4. Supply versus demand (*this includes private pitches and other pitches that are not available for club bookings)
| Sport | Demand (hours) | * Supply (hours) | Supply Belfast City Council only | * Surplus or deficit | BCC surplus or deficit (compared to overall demand) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soccer | 92,083 | 140,672 | 68,384 | 48,589 surplus | 23,699 deficit |
| GAA | 55,910 | 39,280 | 11,712 | 16,630 deficit | 44,198 deficit |
5.4 Carrying Capacity
For the purposes of the baseline for this strategy:
- A 3G pitch is deemed to have an annual carrying capacity of 1,472 hours, calculated as 32 hours weekly (Monday to Friday, 6pm to 10pm and 12 hours at weekends) over 46 weeks of the year. This is a recognised approach used in supply and demand assessments of carrying capacity, reflecting that while pitch usage outside these hours may be available, usage outside these peak periods is very unpopular with clubs.
- Grass pitch is deemed to have a carrying capacity of 160 hours per season, equivalent to four hours per week.
5.5 As the GAA clubs currently demonstrate a strong preference for grass surfaces for matches, it is much more difficult to meet service user demand. This challenge is compounded by Belfast’s climate, which can result in grass pitches becoming unavailable during wet weather. However, greater use of artificial surfaces for both training and match play would significantly maximise the ‘supply’ benefits. If new and existing pitches were to be developed with artificial surfaces, this picture would be very different as each artificial pitch could carry 1,472 playing hours per year (based on peak demand hours) as opposed to 160 hours for grass. Given the limited availability of urban land, financial constraints for developing new facilities. and the existing shortfall in pitch provision, it is recommended that use of artificial surfaces within Gaelic games be further explored with the GAA. Consideration should also be given to incorporating artificial surfaces into new and developed facilities where possible and practical.
