# The new technological Solution for sports activities in non-professional organizations in the context of the green business: challenges and perspectives

Daniil Kulikov, Ishgaley Ishmuhametov

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Daniil Kulikov, Ishgaley Ishmuhametov. The new technological Solution for sports activities in non-professional organizations in the context of the green business: challenges and perspectives. International May Conference on Strategic Management – IMCSM23, University of Belgrade, Technical Faculty in Bor, Department of Engineering Management, May 2023, Bor, Serbia. pp.369-377. hal-04318749

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Submitted on 5 Dec 2023

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# The new technological Solution for sports activities in non-professional organizations in the context of the green business: challenges and perspectives

Daniil Kulikov ¹:² ORCID 0000-0003-2584-3859,
Ishgaley Ishmuhametov ²ORCID 0000-0003-2634-3522

¹Claude Bernard University Lyon 1. Villeurbanne, Rhône-Alpes, France; ²Transport and Telecommunication Institute, 1 Lomonosova Street, LV-1019, Riga, Latvia

**Abstract:** In recent years, sports organizations related to winter sports have increasingly focused on environmental sustainability. The top management of sports clubs aims to use only ice arenas that adhere to the principles of the green economy, considering the impact of global warming. Major sports federations and clubs also recognize the rapidly growing sector of environmental science in the sports industry, as sports facilities have a significant negative impact on the environment. In this context, the use of artificial ice is considered a new way of providing ice services for the sport population with minimal environmental impact and reduced costs. This research aims to study the potential of using new technologies, particularly artificial ice, in accordance with the principles of a green economy, and to develop recommendations for sports clubs for the development of winter games on ice arenas in the future. The authors employed empirical methods such as questionnaires and structured interviews during the study. A total of 3 surveys were conducted with potential service consumers and providers of natural and synthetic ice: 132 ice hockey players, 12 representatives of ice arena management from Latvia and France, and 5 experts promoting the use of synthetic ice. The authors hope that their conclusions and recommendations will be of practical importance to investors, coaches, and managers of ice arenas, as well as all interested parties associated with winter sports and ice arenas focused on the principles of a green economy.

**Keywords:** environmental protection, new technological solution, artificial ice, modern ice arenas, modern ice rinks.

## 1. INTRODUCTION

One of the most important tasks for leaders of sports clubs, ice arenas, and companies serving sports events nowadays is to develop ways for further development based on national strategies and the foundations of building a "green" economy. A green economy aims to
reduce environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and to achieve sustainable development
without degrading the environment. It is closely related to ecological economics, but has a
more politically applied focus (UNEP, 2011). Experts at the United Nations Environment
(UNEP) view the green economy as economic activity "that enhances human well-being and
social justice, while significantly reducing environmental risks and environmental
degradation» (UNEP, 2021).

Most sports organizations related to winter sports pay great attention to the environment. Considering the global warming situation, top management of sports clubs strives to use only those ice arenas where the principles of the "green economy" are taken into account. Managers of sports organizations initiate ongoing expert assessments, scientific research, and discussion of the impact of mass sports winter events on the environment, and introduce environmentally friendly modern technologies. This is understandable because commercialization and the Business Intelligence of the sports industry are becoming important features of modern society, as well as modern approaches in the environment sector (Cotts et al., D; Roper, K; Payant, R, 2010).

The increased interest of the leadership of sports organizations towards new technologies in the construction of new sports centers, expansion, and renovation of ice rinks is giving new opportunities for business. Leaders of major sports federations and clubs are also aware that the environmental impact of the sports industry is a rapidly growing sector of humanity, since sport facilities bring devastating environmental impact to our generation and affect our sustainable environment negatively. Some authors in their research have measured the impact and consequences of ice rink maintenance on the environment (Karampour, M. & 2011; Schulz, J, 2012). In this case, the management of the clubs as customers and stakeholders is trying to use the concept of artificial ice, which can be categorized as a completely new way of ice service for the sport population with minimum impact on the environment and significant cost savings.

The aim of this research is to study the perspectives of using new technologies, particularly artificial ice, in accordance with the concept of a green economy to develop recommendations for sports clubs for the development of winter games on ice arenas in the future. During the analysis, the authors draw attention to the destructive impact of large sports facilities on the environment, the need to collect independent research data, and the need to conduct data analysis to be able to conduct more thorough research and make better recommendations. The authors agree with I. Yatskiv's point of view that "The concept of Data Analysis is becoming increasingly popular as a business information management tool where it is expected to reveal knowledge structures that can guide decisions in conditions of limited certainty" (Yatskiv, I, 2020). This study aims to determine if replacing natural ice with artificial (synthetic) ice will maintain the quality of sports activities for a non-professional group of population.

The following questions were formulated:

RQ1: What is the environmental impact of sports facilities and massive winter sports events?

RQ2: Are there any advantages to using artificial ice by sports clubs in ice arenas for hockey and winter sports? Can the quality of training, leisure activities, and sports games be maintained?
# 1. Literature review

The need to transform the activities and development strategies of sports organizations is confirmed by the fact that, in several countries in the pan-European region, the strategy for building a "green" economy has become an integral part of a broader political strategy, such as a strategy for sustainable development (Belgium/Flanders, Czech Republic, France, Lithuania, Romania). In other cases, such strategies are formulated within the framework of environmental policy (Belgium/Flanders, Republic of Moldova, Seventh Environmental Action Program of the European Commission) or other policy directions, often within the framework of energy policy (Hungary, Italy) (Alinov, M, et al., Orunkhanov, M., Anufriev, 2016).

The problems of global warming and water scarcity on Earth have made society think about the environmental friendliness of ice rinks. Ice rinks have been well-established for years, becoming a popular destination for families' leisure. However, when these rinks were built, energy-efficient solutions were not on the horizon. The issues of the green economy have made the management of sports clubs and ice arenas rethink the environmental friendliness of ice rinks. There has been much discussion centered around the influence of climate change on hockey. However, only a few people have discussed and measured how hockey and other businesses around the rink interact with the environment. The relationship may not seem significant at first within just one ice arena. However, it is far from being insignificant when we consider over 9,000 ice arenas that are operating on average for 11 months per year (Statista research, 2019).

The term resource management at sports facilities, particularly ice rinks, was analyzed by Rogstam and Mazzotti (Rogstam, J & Mazzotti, W, 2014). This research calculated that an average ice rink uses 1000 MWh/yr. On the other hand, the same authors concluded that inefficient ice rinks can use up to 2000 MWh/yr, whereas analytical research by Karampour (Karampour, M, 2011) calculated that the most efficient ice rink systems can use 700 MWh/yr. By doing the math, 1,000 megawatts will be equal to about 6.6 billion kWh in a year, which is equivalent to the amount of power consumed by 900,000 homes in the Northeast but only 460,000 homes in the south. According to analytical evidence research by Schulz regarding water consumption by the machine that spreads the water on the ice surface, further machine called Zamboni, it takes up to 270 gallons of water, which equates to 1022 liters of water each time the machine prepares the ice for the skating session (Schulz, J, 2012). According to the U.S institute of medicine, it was determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is about 3.7 liters of fluids a day for men and about 2.7 liters of fluids a day for women (Institution of Medicine; IOM, 2005).

Therefore, just one resurfacing of the ice rink can maintain a healthy lifestyle for water intake for men for 276 days and 378 days for women. Zamboni has to resurface ice daily from 10-15 times per day, and the ice rink usually operates between 9-12 months. The ice-making water comes out below where the driver is seated on the Zamboni and is spread out over the ice, creating a smooth surface for skaters. However, there was a discussion on the CJAD 800 AM News talk Radio with Kretzschmar that there is an ecologically sustainable alternative ice rink solution that functions without water, energy consumption, and no carbon emission. Synthetic (artificial) ice has a total of 10 years warranty, which gives the opportunity to flip the surface on the other side and use the ice surface again for another 10 years (Kretzschmar, 2020).
While reviewing worldwide ice rink statistics for 2019 regarding the number of ice rinks across the world that operate on a regular basis, the author found 7189 indoor ice arenas with natural ice and 9109 outdoor ice rinks that mainly require water resources to resurface the ice.

Analyzing climate change in North America (Canada) and the scope of winter sports, we found that over the past 100 years, the number of winter days has significantly decreased, but the average temperature has increased by 2°C on average. Reviewing scientific research, it was predicted that historically, Rideau Canal's skating season lasted around 61 days, which is 9 weeks. By 2020, it would shrink by 29% and will lose 67% (41 days) by 2050. By the end of the 21st century, with continuing high emission scenarios, the skating season will be reduced by 87% (Suzuki, D, 2009).

The resource costs for opening and subsequent maintenance are being addressed, among other things, by the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation. The ultimate goal for the model is to use innovative technologies to save water, reduce emissions into the atmosphere, and lower overall energy used at hockey ice arenas. The main goal is to conserve the future opportunity and let future generations play hockey.

The management of sports clubs should provide training and scheduled performances for hockey players, skaters, and figure skaters throughout the year. This always requires special conditions for the ice surface of the rink, maintaining it constantly in perfect condition, and maintaining a special temperature regime. In the warm season or warm regions, it is necessary to build expensive indoor ice arenas, provide appropriate equipment, and hire service personnel.

One of the proposed solutions is synthetic ice. However, this option for the environment also requires research. It is estimated that synthetic ice has around 90% of the glide factor compared to natural ice (Kennedy, J & Watkins, W, 2012). The majority of synthetic ice rinks like to use liquid surface enhancements, which help develop the quality of synthetic ice products and further reduce drag on the skate blade over the artificial surface. Nevertheless, most synthetic ice rinks allow skating without a particular liquid substance (Plastics on ice: How plastics advance ice hockey, 2018).

However, while assessing the perspective use of artificial ice sport services, the authors encountered the following questions:

- there is not enough information on how much natural ice and artificial ice consume resources in Latvia and France, making it harder to compare perspectives of artificial ice from an economical and environmental point of view;

- there is not enough reliable and independent information from elite ice hockey players and their professional opinion regarding the quality of artificial ice;

- there is not enough independent professional opinion on whether artificial ice can be a good solution for young athletes who face a lack of training ice time all year round and especially in the summer time;

- there is no data regarding how the general public would potentially perceive the notion of changing the natural ice surface to artificial ice rinks for non-professional groups of athletes.
### 3. Research methodology

The aim of our research was to study the perspectives of using new technologies, in particular, artificial ice, in accordance with the concept of a green economy, to develop recommendations for sports clubs for the future development of winter games on ice arenas. During the study, the authors applied such empirical methods as questionnaires and structured interviews.

It was important for us to understand the attitude of various population groups towards artificial ice, including professional athletes, which was taken as a basis for identifying the prospects for the development of this entertainment sphere through the use of artificial ice for mass skating.

A total of three surveys were conducted with potential service consumers and providers for natural and synthetic ice. The complexity of the work lay in ordering all three groups of respondents, since in our opinion, representatives of ice rinks tend to consider natural ice an irreplaceable product, while representatives of the new artificial ice product actively propose a replacement for natural ice in the form of synthetic ice and see many-sided benefits when using artificial turf. However, in the authors' opinion, the most critical group of this study is professional athletes, who are ready to share their independent opinion based on their acquired experience of playing hockey on different surfaces, thereby assessing the prospects for using artificial surfaces.

In the first group, 132 athletes with experience in playing ice hockey were interviewed. In the second group, representatives of the management of an ice arena with natural ice were interviewed using the example of two countries, Latvia and France. In Latvia, six respondents were interviewed, who were specialists with work experience in the range of 8-16 years, while in France, six respondents with work experience in the range of 5-20 years were interviewed. In the third group, experts providing and promoting a new service of synthetic ice were interviewed, with five respondents having three years of experience in this service sector.

The survey was conducted anonymously, subject to privacy and data protection policies. Participation was optional.

### 4. Research results

The main group of respondents has experience playing hockey in the range of 5-25 years or more, which totals 92.4% of the surveyed respondents. Most of the surveyed respondents have the status of elite athletes (33.1%) or athletes of the second level (33.3%), who also belong to professional athletes performing in the second divisions. This selection of respondents is able to give a more structured and professional assessment of the new artificial ice service since the respondents in these groups have extensive experience in skating.

The study results show that the majority of professional athletes, as well as the predominant amount of the general public, are widely supporting the opportunity to skate on synthetic ice. One of the key survey criteria was to understand whether the surveyed respondents have experience skating directly on artificial ice. 72% answered positively to this question, which gives a clearer picture of the study when analyzing the subsequent questions.
Among the respondents, it was calculated that 61.6% had a positive experience while skating on artificial ice, and only 10.4% of the interviewees had negative experience with synthetic ice, whereas 28.0% were not able to measure this criteria as they had no skating experience with synthetic ice. During the study, we found that only 11.2% believed that this coverage can be assessed as excellent, 10.4% believed that this coverage met the criterion very well, and the majority of respondents (23.2%) agreed with the assessment well. The slightly lower indicators of the group who rated the artificial ice as normal were 16.8% of the total number of respondents (Figure 1).

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 1.** Perception after skating on synthetic ice</figcaption></figure>

Analyzing another factor which implies readiness to use synthetic ice among professional ice hockey players, the authors defined that 86.5% of professional ice hockey players are ready to substitute natural ice with synthetic ice during the summer time, whereas 13.5% are not ready to use synthetic ice under any circumstances (Figure 2).

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 2.** Readiness to skate on synthetic ice</figcaption></figure>

During this survey, the authors were able to reveal that artificial ice can be considered a promising direction for professional athletes in the summer, as well as for non-professional groups of the population. With the aim of finding a possible solution to the problem of lack of ice time for novice athletes, the authors found that 62.7% of respondents agreed with the opinion that artificial ice can replace natural ice but only partially. Only 9% of respondents believe that training on natural ice can be completely replaced by training on artificial ice, while 6% of respondents believe that skating on artificial ice can harm the development of the technical characteristics of a growing athlete.

In the final question, the respondents were asked to share their views on the prospect of using artificial ice. It is worth noting that more than 90% of respondents expressed positive
aspects of using artificial ice, correlating the possibility of using artificial ice with a good tool to improve shooting technique, puck handling, as well as a number of expert opinions suggesting that during the off-season, this is a good opportunity to maintain muscle corset in the usual hockey mode, which helps reduce the risk of injury when returning to ice training after the off-season.

Taking the economic factor into account, the authors have defined that maintaining a low price for synthetic ice is a crucial criterion for ice rink managers today. It costs less than 10 euros per hour to maintain the synthetic ice surface, whereas the price for natural ice varies between 70-110 euros per hour during the summer. That's the main reason why many ice rink managers decide to melt the ice surface between 1-3 months as the temperature increases and the cost of maintaining natural ice also rises. (See Figure 3).

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 3.** Price ratio for natural ice rink maintenance during the summer</figcaption></figure>

While analyzing the costs for synthetic ice maintenance, the authors defined that its price will be less than 10 euros per hour. This is significantly less expensive compared to natural ice, and this criterion is not dependent on the season of the year. Therefore, the costs will remain stable despite the temperature level outside the arena (See Figure 4).

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 4.** Price ratio for synthetic ice rink maintenance during the summer</figcaption></figure>

Experts in the field of artificial ice were also asked to evaluate the quality of sliding on artificial ice compared to natural ice. Two (40%) of the respondents attributed the sliding quality of artificial ice as equal to 96-97%, while 1 (20%) considered that the quality of
sliding is comparable to 98-99%, and also 1 (20%) of respondents attributed the quality of sliding to the criteria of 94-95% and 92-93% (See Figure 5).

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 5.** If natural ice have 100% glide, how would you evaluate natural ice vs artificial ice glide?</figcaption></figure>

The authors decided to define the important criteria for the potential of synthetic ice among the general public. At this stage, it was concluded that 100% of the respondents said that non-professional skaters are not able to notice the difference between natural and synthetic ice.

Also, respondents, in their comments on the most common problems with artificial ice, noted that as a result of skating, plastic separates into chips (pieces of plastic). This factor reduces the quality of sliding and subsequently the lifetime of the arena since regular cleaning of the surface is required. However, it can be considered a positive factor that there is no need for specially trained workers to maintain such an arena since any worker, including a robotic machine, can clean the artificial ice. This significantly minimizes the cost and emission of maintaining artificial ice. During the survey, the authors found that 4 (80%) of experts said that synthetic ice does not have a negative impact on nature. From an environmental point of view, the use of artificial ice significantly decreases the devastating influence in the environmental sector compared to natural ice.

**5. Conclusion**

Ice hockey rinks are significant consumers of energy and water, resulting in harmful emissions to the atmosphere, which negatively impact the environment. In contrast, artificial ice rinks have no energy or water consumption and no carbon footprint, making them a green concept.

The authors found that artificial ice has positive prospects among potential consumers, with 86.5% of respondents willing to substitute natural ice for artificial ice for skating/training purposes during the summer. Additionally, 61.6% of respondents from professional athletes and rink managers had a positive attitude towards synthetic ice, indicating that this modern ice concept can find appropriate use among potential consumers.

Given the lack of ice for training in Riga (Latvia), the authors suggest that it is possible to open a sports school for ice hockey and figure skating based on artificial ice, which can improve technical skills and strengthen the athlete's muscle corset, particularly in the summer when many rinks are melted, and training is limited.

From an economic perspective, the construction of synthetic ice is a much less costly project that pays for itself much more quickly. The use of synthetic ice is also possible 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, without the need for powerful energy generators and water resources. The concept of synthetic ice requires minimal technical means for its installation and maintenance, saving significant sums every day. Additionally, Euro projects aimed at supporting eco-business projects may offer bonuses for using this concept.

In summary, the authors' conclusions may be of practical importance to investors, coaches of sports clubs, and managers of ice arenas, as well as anyone interested in winter sports and ice arenas that are focused on the principles of a green economy.

## Acknowledgment

The study involved 132 athletes with experience in playing ice hockey, 12 representatives of the management of an ice arena with natural ice from Latvia and France, and 5 experts providing and promoting a new service of synthetic ice, who volunteered to participate. All participants received information about the study and gave voluntary consent to participate.

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