How to use a sports venue for team-building events

Team building venues that help people connect

When it comes to booking team building venues for the annual company excursion, the first thoughts of many managers are meeting rooms or bookable offices. Although these venues are excellent for hosting company-wide events, other spaces are sometimes overlooked – such as sports venues and halls. In this blog, we explore the potential that sports venues can offer as dynamic, versatile spaces able to facilitate a truly unique team building experience. From our state-of-the-art David Ross Sports Village to our spacious and accommodating Jubilee Sports Centre, Nottingham Venues is home to some of the nation’s biggest and best sporting venues, perfect for your next company-wide excursion. 

Why sports venues work so well for team-building events 

We know that a sports venue is a change of scenery for most corporate teams, but here’s why they actually make the perfect team building venue: 

• Physical activity encourages collaboration, trust, and a dose of healthy competition, as well as facilitating constructive communication and natural bonding. Playing sports with coworkers is a fantastic way to build upon skills that are directly transferable to the office or boardroom! 
• A change of scenery is sometimes the catalyst needed to break your team out of routine and spark a little creativity. 
• Sports venues are incredibly versatile, allowing for all different types of team building activities. Nottingham Venues, for example, offers top-quality indoor and outdoor spaces, catering to a wide variety of eventing needs. 
• No need to worry about organising group parking or borrowing equipment; a good sports venue will provide all necessary facilities as standard, allowing you to cut down on time spent planning out logistics. 

And of course, who could forget – those sweet, sweet endorphins! As the NHS says, movement is medicine, and effective team building is much easier when you’re all on cloud nine.

Types of team building activities suited to sports venues

The beauty of sports venues is that you’re not locked in to any one activity – the possibilities are endless. Here at Nottingham Venues, for example, you can use our team building venues for: 

• Indoor sports tournaments: Think basketball, squash, badminton, tennis, netball; even walking football! Our Jubilee Sports Centre has 2 standard courts and 8 speciality badminton courts for those who would prefer to play inside, or our Highfields Playing Fields are available for warmer-weather team excursions. 
• Outdoor pitch-based games: A classic game of football, rounders, or cricket will be sure to bring the team together. Highfields Sports Centre is home to an impressive 8 grass football pitches, 3 rugby pitches, 2 cricket squares, 3 tennis courts, and 2 netball courts. 
• Mixed sports relays/obstacle courses: These are corporate team-building staples for a reason. Use our state-of-the-art David Ross Sports Village facilities to set up a fun relay sprint or an obstacle course in the Martial Arts Dojo.  
• Climbing challenges: Perfect for those not afraid of heights! Our David Ross Sports Village is home to a 12m-high climbing wall. 
• Swimming relays or water-based games: Why not enjoy a Sports Day throwback for your next team building excursion? Nottingham Venues boasts extensive water-based facilities, including a 25m swimming pool and specialist hydrotherapy pool. 
• Hybrid events: If you’re not looking to spend the entire day playing sports, why not plan a hybrid day involving a sporting event or workshop followed by a team debrief in one of our large meeting rooms?
• Wellness/yoga sessions: Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax with a slow-paced team building wellness session. Nottingham Venues offers various studio spaces perfect for yoga, and plenty of guided classes such as Low-Sensory Yoga and Pilates. 

How Nottingham Venues provides corporate team building venues 

Here at Nottingham Venues, we’re proud to offer some of the nation’s best and highest quality sports venues featuring truly state-of-the-art facilities. Our venues are flexible by design, including:

• Grass, sand-dressed, and 3G pitches 
• A range of multi-purpose and specialist sports halls 
• 25m swimming pool 
• Hydrotherapy and and physiotherapy services 
• Fully-fitted dance and yoga studios
• Archery range 
• Fencing salle 
• A martial arts dojo

… and even more! Spread out over multiple facilities, including the David Ross Sports Village, the Highfields Sports Complex, and the Jubilee Sports Centre, there truly is something for everyone at Nottingham Venues. Our friendly staff are always on hand to assist with logistics, planning, and execution, and equipment hire for things like sports gear, PA systems, and scoreboards is available on request. We also provide excellent in-house refreshment facilities, ranging from banquet-style event catering to fresh, locally-sourced dishes at our Bramleys Restaurant. Rooms and meeting spaces are available for hire, including a large conference room and two meeting rooms in the Highfields Sports Complex, and parking, changing rooms, and spectator seating are provided as standard. 

Our booking system is incredibly simple – just pay our site a visit or arrange a call back, undergo a free event consultation, and customise your chosen sports venue for the perfect team building experience.

Tips for planning a sports venue team event 

Organising a team building venue can seem challenging at first, but it doesn’t have to be all endless calls and invoices. Follow our handy tips and tricks to ensure the planning of your next corporate event is a breeze!

• Start your organisation early. Book venues well in advance, gather a planning team, and make sure your perfect sports venue is secured. 
• Assess your participants’ fitness and any other relevant information; make sure you’re offering low intensity/non-competitive options where needed. 
• Mix physical and non-physical tasks to maintain interest and give your team breaks. 
• Prepare for weather if you’ll be hosting outdoors, and make sure you have an indoor fallback if necessary. 
• Create a schedule and plan breaks, warmups, and debriefs to ensure the day runs smoothly. 
• Safety is important, so remember to complete a full risk assessment and double-check insurance. 
• Take advantage of those venue extras! Use the catering, AV, and extra room facilities to make your money go further. 
• Capture the event in pictures and videos both for internal comms and social posts – it’s always nice to post a community update or team blog! 

Measuring team building success 

So now you know how to plan the perfect team building event at a sports venue – but measuring its success is just as important! There are lots of different ways to check if your employees had a fun, constructive work day out, such as: 

• Surveys & written feedback from participants.
• Observations of team cohesion and improvements in communication.
• Reward your team with post-event prizes or recognitions, even if they’re small or silly: for example, Most Relaxed or Chattiest Team Member.
• Use the momentum to your advantage and schedule workshops and tie-in sessions to build upon your success.

Team building venues with a twist 

Although conference rooms and hotel dinners can seem the obvious choice, sports venues have proved themselves to be perfectly versatile and engaging spaces for your upcoming team building experience. Whether you’re looking for a chilled-out wellbeing session or a full day of lively sporting events, book a sports venue to ensure your next work outing is a success. 

If you’re on the search for that perfect location, why not discover what Nottingham Venues has to offer? With friendly staff on-hand to help your day run smoothly and a wide range of state-of-the-art sporting facilities, book a sports venue with Nottingham Venues today