Pune Inc: Why a city company is investing in sports infrastructure in townships

“In Pune, 90 per cent of our programmes are focused around grassroots development so the average pricing comes to between Rs 5,500 and Rs 7,000 a month, which is similar to what local academies are charging through the services offered by PBI is of international class,” says Pavit Singh, founder of Ileseum Clubs.

“The reason we have kept prices low — and Ileseum is taking a hit — is that we want to bring in the numbers. PBI in Bangalore charges much higher, but they have had 3 years to establish themselves. We also want to bring ourselves to a point where people can see the value and be willing to pay the viable charges maybe a year from now,” he adds.

Started two years ago, Ileseum works with large townships to operate sports facilities and lifestyle sports clubs for the ordinary public. “We come from a thought that people who engage in physical and mental health development activities, with sports being a tool for this, tend to be a stronger and more resilient population. We’re trying to build a country by building the people in it using sports and fitness,” says Singh.

One of their projects is a township in Mumbai that has a football stadium, a cricket ground, a golf course, and a number of clubs, among others, which cost them Rs 10 crore-Rs 15 crore to operate. “But, once the flats were sold, the sports infrastructure became a burden because society could not afford it. When developers promise a lifestyle on the hoardings, it might not materialise. We work with the developers, and build the lifestyle infrastructure by bringing in world-class services and academies. As a result, the club becomes a source of revenue year on year and a return on assets,” says Singh.

PBI, for instance, is situated in Ganga Legends County (GLC), whose 14-acre property is home to Padukone Sports Management, Gary Kirsten Cricket India, Holystoked Skateboarding, and Michael Phelps Swimming besides a billiards parlour, e-sports zone, gym, and badminton courts. “Now, a user can simply come to the facility and have a 19-member customer service team assisting them. We have more than 500 kids playing on that facility and more than 150 parents using the jogging track and athletic track,” says Singh.

Ileseum has signed up 17 clubs of which a few of them host PBI, with developers such as Godrej Properties and Shapoorji. Apart from these professional performance centres, the company has made inroads into towns such as Solapur, for people who cannot afford the regular PBI programme. The latter will have an Indian head coach, with over 10 years of experience under PBI.

“We plan to have at least 10 more centres in the next couple of years once the present one in Bavdhan is fully operational,” says Singh.