No more merely for kids' play

Open spaces having hardly standard size for football-like outdoor games have become higher- profitable business than real estate in this crammed capital city of Dhaka, generating a new genre of entrepreneurs.

Make no mistake that these are merely for kids' play for free, say sources in the know, rather it pays more to invest in this new commercial venture compared to commercial buildings. Nearly half a million can each spin off a month from lower investment than in the traditional real-estate business.

Famed players of various games worldwide mint millions from hire and hefty awards, banking on their profiles as celebrity. Professional players in Bangladesh are no less-fortunate too. Health issue is another spur for the playground business.

A group of such new-venture businesspeople have secured a daily average Tk 25,000 to Tk 30,000 by renting the fields to players on the basis of an hour or more, either to use for practicing outdoor games or playing tournaments like football, cricket, basketball.

They are carving out this advantage from the absence of standard playgrounds in this megacity of around 20-million-strong populace.

Educational institutions, associations of different professional groups and business organisations are the clients of these private paid fields located in different areas. The congested old Dhaka -- interspersed with homes and heterogeneous businesses -- is no exception. The number there is now not less than 10.

The FE correspondent has found the earning from the renting of each of the pitches range from Tk 500,000 or above per month, depending on size of the fields. The rent figure is comparable to a 10-storied new building recently rented commercially in a city area.

Investing Tk 2.0 million or more for developing mainly pitches with caged and astro turf (artificial grass) along with lockers, sitting arrangement and restrooms-like facilities, the investors fix Tk 250 to Tk 350 from each player for a time slot of one or one-and-a-half hours.

The earning is dependent on the size of field and time. The highest slot is worth Tk 7,000 for a field where 16 players can play at a time.

Nighttime rates are higher than that of daytime, for use of high-power bulbs, same as weekend and holiday rates that differ from weekdays or summer daytime. Hardly any slots go free during winter time, starting from early morning.

Dhaka Arena, Dhaka South Field, Sports Grill, NDE Sport Facility, Jaff Arena Academy, Aziz Manjil, the Stadium, and Courtside are among the fields of which investors are outdoor-game lovers as well as businessmen.

"Our field is hardly left free in a day. Sometimes some players hire the field for late-night play too,'' says one staff member of such a busy playground.

Apart from schools, he adds, different associations like that of doctors, bankers also rent the field for football and cricket officially or personally forming teams. Teenager teams are also formed through online grouping.

Safran Ahmed, a former student of European Standard School, has turned his father's rickshaw garage into such kind of field in Hazaribagh area from the idea of introducing playground in south city-corporation zone. From his zeal on football, Safran earlier used to play in other paid fields in DNCC area.

''This business model came to my mind when my father suddenly was planning to free fallow land being used as garage for storied building after tannery was removed from Hazaribagh area,'' he told this correspondent.

His field, named Dhaka South Field, has 7000- square-foot pitch to fit 10 players for a slot of one-and-a-half hours, out of total land area measuring 10,000 sqft which has been in the field since January 2021.

Talking to other players, investors and coaches, it was learnt that such rented fields, located in the city's Purbachal, Basundhara, Dhanmondi, Hazaribag and Segunbagicha areas, have been in the business for two to three years now.

Some owners have also turned the business into sports academy providing coaching for different outdoor games for children of various ages. Jaff is the first indoor Stadium Academy located in Bashundara. But big business houses also introduce academy introducing timebound certificate coaching on outdoor games.

However, none of these pitches has the standard size for outdoor games or developed field with natural grass. Maintenance cost of natural grass is costly and time-consuming. Also, it cannot be maintained in such commercial way due to renting almost every hour.

Former national players Sheikh Belal Ahmed and Alfaz Ahmed, who are hired by different sports academies to train children, said natural-grass pitches are healthy for players and less hazardous as astro-turf fields are not comfortable for practices Besides, these fields are not for grooming professional players.

Both the national players of the late 90s and early 20s said outdoor games are not only physical-health issues but also related to mental fitness.

Sheikh Belal Ahmed, who trains below-10 children at Aziz Manjil in Segunbagica area, said parents are eager to send their kids to play outside for saving them from device and laziness, including obesity, for lack of physical activities.

"Parents often cry out to us and request as to save their children from addiction to mobile," he added to state the importance of the playgrounds as hardly these are available on area basis.

Regarding business point of view, Safran also said prospect of play field is high due to huge demand but low supply in the city areas. But, he notes, this prospect cannot be compared with other modes of business, like shopping complex, as businessmen are always crazy about more profit than issues of social responsibility.

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