Facilities Management of Sports Infrastructure in Tanzania: A Case Study of the Stadia in Dar Es Salaam

Purpose: The growth of sports industry comes with increased infrastructures which required reliable management for their sustainability. The research aimed at exploring the management of sports infrastructure with special reference to stadia. It assessed the management practice, explored the policies supporting the management of the sports facilities and associated challenges towards suitable management practice in the sports infrastructure in Tanzania.Design/Methodology: The study involved a qualitative research approach with alignment to the case study method. Purposive sampling was used to obtain respondents whereas interview guide and observation were adopted as data collection tools. This paved way for thematic analysis with the help of methods for data presentation.Findings: The research revealed the difference in facilities management practice of stadia facilities and other properties due to peculiarity of installed facilities and the use of the infrastructure. Also, the facilities management was not addressed by the sports development policy; consequently, there were no facility managers which lead to inadequate maintenance plan and threaten sustainability of infrastructure.Research Implications/Limitations: The paper creates a compound eye to researchers on the management of sports infrastructure. The major limitation of the paper was lack of one-to-many relationship (user versus stadia) which has narrowed the probability of one user having visited both stadia.Practical implications: The research guides facilities managers on the stadia management roles and various management aspects for a successful management of the sports infrastructure. Originality/Value of work: The paper makes an original contribution to stadia management practice in association with challenges and policies involved in the process.