What to consider when procuring new sports facilities

Not every modular building is the same, and the differences matter most in sport, where buildings are used hard, every day, by people who notice the details. This checklist sets out the questions worth asking before you commit to a supplier.

Is it permanent or temporary?

Portable cabins and hire units are designed for short-term use and are usually rented. A permanent modular building has a designed structural frame, proper foundations, a full insulated envelope and a finished specification, and it is owned by the club. Ask which you are being offered, and what the building is designed to do over ten or twenty years rather than one season.

What is the structure?

Ask what the frame is made of and how it is protected. MOCKBA buildings use galvanised steel frames, which do not rot, warp or support infestation and can carry the loads of a permanent building. For two-storey or larger-span buildings, ask how hot-rolled steel is combined with the module frames.

Is the layout designed for us?

Changing rooms for a first team, an academy and match officials have different requirements, and so do waiting areas, medical rooms, meeting rooms and reception. A standard unit forces the club to adapt to the building. A bespoke design adapts the building to the club: flows between spaces, positions of showers and WCs, storage, and where parents and guests wait.

What actually happens on site?

Ask how much of the building is completed in the factory, how long installation takes, and how deliveries and craning will be planned around training and fixtures. Ask what site works are needed beforehand, and who is responsible for foundations and service connections.

Who is accountable?

Design, manufacture, delivery and installation are sometimes split between several companies. A single team that designs, manufactures and installs the building gives you one point of accountability for the result.

Can we see comparable work?

Ask for completed projects of a similar type and, ideally, a conversation with the client. MOCKBA's academy buildings for Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town are documented on this site, with comments from the clubs.

What should we send to get a useful proposal?

• What the building needs to contain (for example: two team changing rooms, officials' room, physio room, waiting area).
• Where on the site it will go, with a plan or aerial image if available.
• Any constraints: access, pitches, existing buildings, planning history.
• When you need it, and any windows in the season when site work is easier.
• An indication of budget range, which helps us advise on specification and phasing.

With that information we can discuss the right configuration, a realistic programme and how the building can be phased if needed.