Assessment of COVID-19 precautionary measures in sports facilities: A case study on a health club in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Health club facilities represent a physical space for an industry that is centric to human health and fitness, serving various societal dimensions such as cultural, economic, and social aspects on the individual and the national levels. This research conducts an indicative post occupancy evaluation (POE), for assessing the provision of post-pandemic precautionary measures and management strategies, in health club facilities. The research activities comprised a review of literature, a walkthrough for assessing a case study health club facility, where precautionary measures were investigated to ascertain its preparedness. Observations of trainers and administrative staff were collected, to derive recommendations that ensure sustainable operation in response to the challenges set by COVID-19 on continuity of health club facilities. The research concludes with remarks to propose recommendations and future research directions. The research initiates a topic that is overlooked in the literature of sports management domain. This research serves to raise awareness among designers and managers of health club facilities on the precautionary measures of protecting health club facilities against safety and health risks of COVID-19, from different regional perspectives. This is by tackling an identified contextual gap on health club facilities in the relevant literature.