Practitioner perspectives of legacy: insights from the 2015 Pan Am Games

Orr, M and Inoue, Y ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1983-6217 (2020) Practitioner perspectives of legacy: insights from the 2015 Pan Am Games. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 12 (5). pp. 717-729. ISSN 2159-676X

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Abstract

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Although legacy frameworks exist in academia and legacies are oft discussed in relation to publicly- and privately funded events, there remains a dearth of knowledge on practitioner conceptualisations of the concept. A case study of the Toronto 2014 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games was conducted using semi-structured interviews with event organisers and city officials to understand how practitioners conceptualise legacies, and what their goals are in relation to legacies. The findings show that organisers conceptualise legacies as solely positive, and include Games-time impacts and outcomes as part of the legacy. The positive frame supports the three central legacy goals: justifying public spending on events, boosting public support for event hosting, and advancing city development goals through event hosting. This research contributes to the discourse on event legacy and takes an important step in expanding understandings of practitioner conceptualisations of legacy.