Competition, perseverance, concentration on the goal, the ability to work in a team – these are the qualities that characterize both athletes and entrepreneurs, which is why these two areas of life are constantly intertwined. However, what does this also translate into the real estate market? It turns out that it is quite large and can be one of the competitive advantages.

Large business centers often gather several or even several thousand employees. It is a huge, diverse community where everyone has their own interests, passions or skills. Proper management of the potential of such a large social group brings with it opportunities in the field of support for residents, integration, and often also promotion of the facility. Such projects also have an individual dimension, as Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Olympic medalist, representative of Polish sailing, says: The experience of my more than 40-year sports career has taught me that sport is not only about the development of the body: it is also important for mental well-being, for social relationships, but also for business, because sport has the characteristic of teaching perseverance, clearing your head of negative emotions, but also helping you quickly break down barriers, have conversations, share knowledge and establish relationships. Among other things, I show this in the Power Walk project, which I am currently developing: through conversations with interesting people, I want to inspire, present their history, the path they have taken, their passions and their interesting view of the world. It is amazing how many managers, managing serious enterprises, confirm in conversations during our walks that, despite their many responsibilities, they treat physical activity as something they always find time for, as it is one of the most important factors that help to cope with business challenges.

An interesting example of how to use sport for the benefit of a business center and use it to build a competitive advantage can be Olivia Centre, which is the largest Polish mixed-use facility. Its offer, addressed to resident employees, includes several initiatives related not only to sports. Interest clubs are addressed to a wide range of employees of the center, thanks to which not only can they choose the right discipline depending on their interests and level of fitness, but also take part in several different initiatives. Yoga classes are held every week , sailing enthusiasts have the opportunity to take cruises on the Bay of Gdańsk under the supervision of experienced skippers, and the longest running sports club is the Olivia Centre football league, which has been held for 13 years. It consists of as many as 12 teams, representing their companies in the annual championships. The popularity of the league is documented by the numbers: in total, there are over 50 matches per season, in which an average of 7 goals are scored per game. There are 199 players taking part in them, and the proof that the competition is really fierce are the statistics of cards handed out: in the 2024/2025 season, there were 27 yellow and 5 red cards.

The volleyball club is also very popular, especially since two full-size beach volleyball courts appeared in Olivia. Since then, it has become one of Olivia’s most iconic sports – and one of the best examples of how work, sports and residents’ passions can naturally intertwine. The pitches are free of charge, and reservations can be made on your own using the online system. Thanks to this, volleyball quickly became an everyday element of residents’ lives. Corporate and inter-company teams organize their own matches, mini-tournaments and regular trainings. In total, in one summer season, pitches are booked over 400 times. The project has an additional dimension: the sports fields were also eagerly used by students from neighbouring schools – especially in the morning. In May, the pitches were often used by high school graduates, for whom sport was a form of relaxation before exams. This shows that Olivia’s sports space works not only for the residents, but also for the benefit of the local environment.

Among other sports clubs, we can also mention the running club, run by Łukasz Gałka, who has competed in half marathons, marathons and triathlons, is a medalist of the Polish Academic Championships, and today he not only trains others, but also prepares himself to participate in the World Masters Athletics Championships Daegu 2026. The club’s meetings are held twice a week, and its members prepare to achieve their own goals: improving their fitness or more ambitious plans. In the latter area, Olivia also cooperates with local organizers of sports competitions: Northern Charity Run Helps and Ultras Oliwski. You can take part in the first one by running, walking, cycling, rollerblading or scootering. There is one goal: to support those in need from the Fr. Eugeniusz Dutkiewicz SAC Hospice in Gdańsk. Ultras Oliwski, on the other hand, is a run for people who are preparing for mountain marathons and ultramarathons and for off-road running enthusiasts. The goal of the organizers is to popularize running and integrate the local community of Gdańsk-Oliwa, and Olivia Centre is a partner of this sports activity for the seventh time.

Olivia has also established a partnership with the neighbouring University of Gdańsk. Under the agreement, it became the Patron of Sport of the Academic Sports Association, which became a natural extension of the long-term cooperation between the partners. Thanks to the new agreement, sports training of Olivia’s clubs will be able to take place under the supervision of experienced AZS coaches. The surveys we conducted conveyed a very clear message – every initiative that brought employees together in joint sports, artistic or social initiatives was a factor influencing the well-being of employees – says Bogusław Wieczorek, Representative of the Management Board of Olivia Centre . What’s more, employees emphasized that interesting projects are valuable incentives for them to choose a job from the office. We compared it with the data on attendance in offices and it turned out that this is a noticeable regularity on the scale of our entire business center, which was a clear indicator for us for the development of further sports projects. Over the years, we have developed them in parallel with others, apart from sports projects, among which there are even such original projects as the Olivia Centre Choir, which now brings together employees from 18 different companies. All these initiatives have a common feature – they build satisfaction with the place that our residents have chosen to do business around sports.

Interestingly, the scale of the facility means that the group of residents also includes entities that allow for exceptional synergy and additional support for such projects. One of them is MySomi Care, which functions as an integrated healthcare ecosystem that combines clinical care, full diagnostics, supplementation (Labify) and SaaS technology in one place. The idea for its development came from the sports history of Sylwester Kłos, the founder and CEO of the company: As a young footballer, I had to end my career prematurely – classical medicine could not diagnose the source of the health problems I was facing at the time. I regained my remission only thanks to functional medicine and the school of Prof. Datis Kharrazian. This experience became the foundation on which I built Sports-Med in Gdańsk for over 10 years – one of the largest functional dietetics practices in Poland. In early 2026, after managing more than 15,000 patients in the individual care system. Today, the brand has evolved into MySomi Care – an integrated healthcare ecosystem that combines clinical care, full diagnostics, supplementation (Labify) and SaaS technology in one place. Patients come to us with symptoms that they hear in the standard system that they are “normal”: a decrease in sports form, chronic fatigue, brain fog, autoimmune, hormonal and skin problems. The company provides support for people in need of medical care, but also for athletes. We work on functional (not laboratory) scopes, full diagnostics and proprietary ETAP protocols – emphasizes Sylwester Kłos. The strongest proof of effectiveness are the athletes of the highest level who have entrusted us with their health and results – m.in. Przemysław Frankowski, Maria Andrejczyk, Paweł Wszołek, Sofia Ennaoui, Tomasz Gębala, Krystian Pieszczek.