Public Support for Sports Infrastructure Engaged in Economic Activities Outside the Scope of EU State Aid Rules: Determinants of the Purely Local Impact
Public Support for Sports Infrastructure Engaged in Economic Activities Outside the Scope of EU State Aid Rules: Determinants of the Purely Local Impact

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses the circumstances under which public funding of sports infrastructure with economic activities does not constitute State aid within the meaning of Article 107(1) TFEU, with particular attention to the notion of a purely local impact. Drawing upon the European Commission’s Notice on the notion of State aid, the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, and consistent administrative practice, the study reconstructs the reasoning that allows certain measures to fall outside EU State aid rules. Using a comparative and interpretive legal methodology, it examines a selection of Commission decisions concerning community sports and leisure facilities to identify the decisive factual and legal indicators of locality. The paper argues that the recognition of the purely local doctrine both clarifies the boundaries of Article 107(1) TFEU and operationalises the principle of subsidiarity. It further concludes that this approach ensures a balanced relationship between the objectives of market integration and the autonomy of local public authorities in pursuing social and regional development goals.

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