The Netherlands is facing a shortage of usable sports facilities. Part of the solution lies in covering outdoor sports fields, such as tennis, hockey, and basketball courts. These become less accessible during the autumn and winter months due to rain, cold, and strong winds. Elementary schools also face a lack of space to meet the new standards for physical education. Existing solutions, such as air domes, also have drawbacks. They are energy-intensive, difficult to assemble and disassemble and offer little flexibility in use. Therefore, we are looking for a smart and affordable solution for modular and circular sports domes that allow people to practice sports year-round.
From NOC*NSF, in collaboration with Sportinnovator, the Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association (KNLTB), the Dutch Basketball Association (NBB), the Royal Dutch Hockey Association (KNHB), Sportbedrijf Arnhem and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), we challenge the market! Does your company have a sustainable and affordable solution that allows people to play sports safely and comfortably during the winter? Then we look forward to your submission!
The Challenge
Outdoor sports fields, such as basketball and hockey courts, tennis and padel courts and multi-sports fields, are places where people come together to exercise, move, and spend time together. For sports clubs, sport providers, schools and local residents, these fields offer an important space to stay active and healthy. But as the autumn and winter months approach and the weather changes, many of these outdoor sports fields go unused due to rain, cold, and wind. Consequently, sports activities cease and fields remain unused for months. This also jeopardizes the financial position of sports providers and the existence of sports clubs.
In response, air dome halls are sometimes used, but they have a relatively high-energy consumption of about 48 kWh per m² (for winter operations). An average air dome hall covering two tennis courts (approximately 1,250 m²) consumes 60,000 kWh during the winter months at a temperature of 13°C. This is comparable to the total electricity consumption of five households. This consumption is caused by the continuous need for heating, ventilation, and lighting to maintain a suitable indoor climate. This makes dome halls not only expensive to operate but also unfriendly to the environment.
Traditional air domes have long provided a solution for winter use of sports fields. However, they also have several limitations, such as:
- Time and labor-intensive: Setting up and dismantling an air dome takes time, requires a lot of manpower and demands significant storage space during summer months.
- Sustainability: Materials in traditional air domes are not circular, making reuse after their lifecycle either impossible or very challenging.
- Specific usability: Traditional air domes are designed for single-use applications and offer little flexibility for supporting other sports or activities.
What are we looking for?
We are seeking innovative solutions for open sports fields (of various dimensions and surfaces) as sustainable and cost-efficient alternatives to traditional energy-consuming air domes.
While an all-encompassing solution would be ideal, we also see value in concepts that are innovative in specific areas. Solutions should address the following core criteria:
- Modularity: The solution must be adaptable to different sizes and configurations, making it suitable for various sports facilities and surfaces. We seek systems that are safe to assemble and disassemble with fixed grid sizes, easy to repair, and compactly storable.
- Circularity/energy efficiency: The solution uses sustainable and circular materials with a low environmental impact over its entire lifecycle. Energy efficiency is important for heating, ventilation, and lighting, and the solution should be compatible with a low-consumption existing electrical connection.
- Safety: A storm and rain-resistant design that complies with all relevant safety standards for sports facilities. The solution must provide adequate ventilation and ensure safety during sports, such as maintaining a minimum temperature of 13°C for comfort, preventing mold, condensation, and slipperiness.
- Promotion of Sports Participation: The solution should be suitable for multiple sports such as basketball, hockey, tennis, or padel and applicable on various surfaces, from public squares to sports parks. By protecting against different weather conditions, the solution encourages year-round sports participation.
Nice to have
While the core criteria are our primary focus, we welcome additional functionalities that add value to the solution.
- Educational Functionality: Usable for physical education with acoustics that comply with educational regulations.
- Social Safety: Features like good sightlines, no hidden corners and adequate lighting.
- Green Design: Positive impact on surrounding nature and green spaces.
- Permit-Friendly: Easy permitting process without complex procedures.
What are we not looking for?
We are not looking for conceptual ideas without a clear possibility for a workable pilot.
What's in it for you?
- A chance to receive a €50,000 contract to implement and test a pilot via Sportinnovator.
- Thanks to the additional budget, there is room for three more pilot projects of €50,000 each (final approval is expected at the end of September).
- Valuable network of collaboration partners in the sports and government sectors.
- Opportunity for follow-up, scaling, or long-term collaboration if successful.
Subsidy Opportunities
We have mapped the subsidy possibilities and the winner will receive a detailed report about this. Here you can find some preliminary information about the opportunities: Subsidy possibilities.pdf
Pilot Opportunity
In Arnhem, the Cruyff Court de Bakenhof is a significant sports location for the neighborhood. This field is part of an area currently under redevelopment and falls within the "Arnhem East" initiative, which has a long-term budget. This offers a prime opportunity to bring your innovative covering solution to practice. Upon a successful pilot, the municipality may include the solution in its budget, opening prospects for scaling.
Alternate Pilot Location
Do you have a preferred pilot location in mind? We're open to that! This allows you to develop your solution in an environment and with partners best suited to your vision or collaborate with other municipalities or sports organizations.
Evaluation Criteria
Entries will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Impact: Does the solution improve the possibilities for autumn and winter sports?
- Sustainability: What is the environmental impact of the design and its energy usage?
- Innovation: How innovative are the modular and circular elements of your solution?
- Feasibility: Is the solution technically realizable within a short time, financially feasible and relatively easy to use?
- Scalability: Can the idea be more widely applied to sports fields in the Netherlands?
Your Entry
The submission must include the following components:
- Description of the solution: Provide as concrete a description of your solution as possible.
- Description of the pilot: Provide a brief description of what is needed to create a prototype and/or set up a pilot and what you require from us. Address support needs, required access/materials/data and the financial proposal for the pilot and long term.
- Description of the team: Provide a brief description of the company and team that plans to carry out the pilot.
The submission must meet the following requirements:
- In Dutch or English
- A maximum of 6 pages / 18 slides
- In the form of a presentation, slide deck or text file
- Uploaded as a PDF file (landscape or portrait A4 format, max 30MB)
- (Optional) Videos, example websites, etc., can be added as links
Timeline
- Monday, June 23, 2025, at 12:00 PM CET: Launch of challenge
- Friday, October 10, 2025, at 5:00 PM CET: Challenge deadline
- By Monday, November 17, 2025: Announcement of first selections
- Tuesday, December 9, 2025: Live pitches/discussions with selected entries
- Q1 2026: Start of pilot
About Us
This innovation challenge is organized by a collaboration of sports organizations and governmental bodies:
- NOC*NSF: The umbrella organization for sports in the Netherlands. We connect, support, and innovate to make sports accessible for everyone. Together, we work towards a future where sports connect, inspire and strengthen society.
- Sportinnovator: The sports innovation network of the Netherlands. Sportinnovator's mission is to drive innovation for lifelong enjoyable sports and physical activity.
- The Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association (KNLTB), Dutch Basketball Association (NBB), and Royal Dutch Hockey Association (KNHB) contribute specific sports expertise and represent the interests of their sports disciplines.
- Sportbedrijf Arnhem: Our local partner for practical implementation and testing in Arnhem.
- Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO): Supports the challenge with expertise in sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship.
Background Information
General: The sizing requirements are the same as for indoor sports in general. See the quality control system on sportinfrastructuur.nl.
Construction Physics Indoor Areas
Hockey: The KNHB sets a minimum size for temporary covered competitions at 38 meters (length) and 18 meters (width). This excludes the safe buffer zones.
Tennis: The minimum requirements for a covered tennis court are:
- Dimensions of the court: Matches new constructions, renovations, or refurbishments.
- Backyard clearance: 6.40 meters
- Side clearance: 3.66 meters
- Intermediate clearance: 5.00 meters
- Cover measurements: Minimum of an A-hall
- Height at backline clearance: 4.30 meters
- Height above backline: 5.95 meters
- Height at net level: 9.00 meters
Padel: For padel, the minimum free height is 6 meters (recommended: 8 meters).