By Song Haoxin,People’s Daily reporter
The 2026 FIBA Women's 3x3 World Series(Chengdu)was held at Jiaozi Music Square in Chengdu High-tech Zone. (Photo byWang Xi,Xinhua News Agency)
The AFC Champions League Elitequalifying play-off washeld at the Chengdu Phoenix Mountain Sports Park Football Stadium. (Photo by Song Haoxin,People’s Daily)
The15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Sports Powerhouseproposes" cultivateplace-based branded sportingevents"and"establishan ecosystem for theevent economybuilt around homegrown eventIPs."In recent years,the acceleratingintegration of culture,sports and tourismhas fueled growingenthusiasm for hosting events across the country,and the event economy has become increasinglydynamic.How can cities and events complement each other?How can independent eventsthrive?How canlives and communities be further transformed throughsports?The"Cities and Events" feature is created forin-depthanalysis.
—TheEditor
At the outdoor pool of the Shuangliu Sports Center in Chengdu,Sichuan Province, the 2026 ChinaNational Outdoor Swimming Elite Competitionwas held."The outdoor pool withtheblue water and sky offers a completely different viewing experience.It's so convenient towatchtopswimming stars like Zhang Yufei and Wang Changhao compete right at our doorstep,"remarked Mr.Zhang,a local residentwatching the event withhis child.
Data showsthat from 2021 to 2025,Chengdu successfully hostedmore than120 internationals and over 150 nationalsportingevents.And this year,thecity is set to stageover 100 at both international and national levels.How comeChengduhasattractedso many major events here?How doresidentsfeel aboutthisconcentration ofsporting schedule?
What has the stream of eventsbroughtto the city?
Activating33 Large-ScaleStadiumsforSustained Public Benefits
Chengduboasts33 stadiumsthat meet the national standards for large-scalestadiums.Most of themwere built or upgradedinpreparation for the 2023 ChengduFISU World University Games.While thehigh-standardstadiumshaveprovidedhardware support for hosting high-level competitions,they also facea commonindustry challenge—post-eventvacancyand single-purpose facilities.
To breakfrom convention andsolvethedevelopmentpuzzle,Chengduhasbuilt a systematic smartstadiummanagement platform.Bymonitoring andanalyzingthe equipment status,energy consumption,and environmental conditions online,thecityhascontinuously improvedits operational level and attractedmore major events.After the Universiade,Chengdu hosted the 2024 BWF Thomas&Uber Cups,the 2025 World Games,and other international competitions.It has also attracted thelong-term hosting ofhigh-level events like the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup,the Triathlon World Cup,and the World DanceSports Championships.These have enabledresidents toexperience the charm of competitive sports closely.At the same time,Chengdu has refinedthe industrial chain of competitions and performances,forginga newpath:"hosting events,nourishing the city,developing the industry,and benefiting the people."
TakeFenghuangshan Sports Park as an example.Afterthe Universiade,its professional football stadium continues to host Chinese Super League matches,while the multipurpose arena hosts concerts and commercialcompetitions.The public fitness center andthesurrounding spacesofferbasketball,table tennis,badminton,and otherpublicsports activities and training forresidents.Today,the Fenghuangshan Sports Park has transformed from anevents-exclusive venueinto ashared space for all,effectively solving the problems of post-event venueutilizationandvisitordropat large-scale stadiums.Data shows that since its full operation in 2023,the park hasmaintaineda weeklyoverallvenue utilization rate of over 80%.It hashosted more than 200 large-scale events with over 10,000 attendees each.The"sportainmenteconomiccircle"has attracted a cumulative audience of over 5 million,generatingtotal box office revenue of approximately 2.4 billion yuan and stimulating around16 billion yuan inrelated consumption across the entire region.
The Fenghuangshan Sports Park is not alone;many sportsstadiumsin Chengduhavealsoembraceddiversified operations.TheDong'anhu Sports Park achieveshighlyefficient venue utilization by regularly hosting professional events,mass sports activities,and cultural performances.Meanwhile,the ChengbeiGymnasiumstages trendy events such as the World DanceSports Championships and theWDSFBreaking World Championships,attracting youngspectators.
The eventscontinue todeliversustainable public benefits.Residents areno longer just"watching the games at their doorstep",theyarebecoming active participants.More and moreresidents can enjoy high-quality fitness resources at free or low prices,andthe public's enthusiasm for mass sports continues to soar."I’vealways feltthat major sporting events were far away from ordinary people,but now they have become a part ofourdaily leisure life,"remarkedresidentLin Xiaorong.
Thenhowtoignitethe public's enthusiasm for fitness?
Fitnessasmarketfair,combininga city lifestyleofsportainment
"Exercise isn’tjust about toughworkingout atthe gym,but also a way to‘have fun’for friends to gather and for parents to take their kids out on weekends,"remarkedHu Zhili,a residentfromQingyang District,Chengdu.His words echo thesentiments of many Chengdu people.
Anofficial from the Chengdu Sports Bureau said that since2025,Chengduhaslaunchedthe"ActiveChengdu·Twelve MonthlyMarkets"residentfitness IP,featuring"monthly themes,weekly events,daily activities"to continuously ignite the city's enthusiasm for sports.As of July2026,over 3,200 city-widefitness events have been held,with more than 7 million participants."Wewantto organize fitness activities like apan-city market,so that residentscanenjoy a series of urban gatherings that make exercisefun," the official said.
The foundation for holding an increasing number of mass events lies intheincreasingly well-developed public fitness venues.Bythe end of 2025,Chengdu hadcumulatively built 122 sports parks of various types, 513 community sports corners,and 1,050 new fitness spaces along the Tianfu Greenway.Public sports venues and facilities at the township level have achievednearfull coverage,andthe community"15-minute fitness circle"benefitsthe public,withpublic sports venues across the cityopening to residents for free or at low cost and serving5.94 millionvisits.
New fitness scenarios are expanding.During the 15th Five-Year Plan period,Chengdu Rail Transit Group will leverage its metro network of over 700 kilometers and nearly 500 stations to deploy small fitness pods and sports experience stores.These make use ofreserved spaces within stations and TOD commercialareas,allowing people to complete a short workout.During their commutes,residents can exit the station andcompleteshort workouts or physical trainingnearby.
"Having venues"isjust the start;"excellent service"is alsoimportant.ChengduhasbuiltaCity Sports Health Promotion Service Centerthrough a"city-district-hospital"co-construction model.Ithas cultivated over 71,000 social sports instructors.Aunt Zhang,a residentlivingin Jinjiang District,Chengdu,was found to have high blood pressure during a physicalcheck-up.Based on her physical condition, communityexercisehealth instructorscustomized anexercise prescription for her,including jogging andBaduanjin.They alsoregularlytrackher health indicators."Nowmyexercise issafe and scientific,andI feel much more at ease,"Aunt Zhang said.
Through multifaceted efforts,the enthusiasm of Chengduresidents for sports has continued to increase.In 2025,the proportion of the population in Chengdu who regularly participate inphysicalexercise was 43.3%,whilethe physical fitness qualification ratereached94.98%.
How toconvertspectator numbersintonewlifestylegrowth?
Linking"Event—CulturalTourism—Commerce"todrive citywidetakeup
The Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit,located on the banks of Longma Lake in the Chengdu Eastern New Area,is the only FIA Grade 2 circuit in westernChina.It isalso the only circuit with dual certificationsfromFIMAsia.
"We have created a full-chainmodel from taster to professionalism,lowering the barrier to entry for motorsports andlettingpeopleexperienceitscharm,"saidLi Gang,Deputy General Manager of Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit.In 2025 alone,more than400 enthusiasts moved from thego-karting experience zone to professional racing.Thisdrovefollow-up spending of over10 million yuan onsubsequent licencing,modifications,training,and more.
Hosting events feeds into the city,andaudiencetrafficturns into growth.
The homecourtof Chengdu Rongcheng in the Chinese Super League consistently maintainshigh popularity.In the 2025 season,the total number of spectators at Chengdu Rongcheng's home ground exceeded 655,000,with an average attendance of over 40,000 per match and14.7% of the crowdfrom outsidethe city.In the 2026 season,as the teamlaunched its title chase,the attendance has climbed higher,withevery match drawingover41,000.
Using the Chinese Super League as avehicle,the Fenghuangshan Sports Park has developed over a hundred types of team-themedcultural and creative products,and collaborated with more than 110 restaurants,shops,and cultural tourismbusinesses to offer exclusive discounts for spectators.Everymatch day,the metro passenger number doubles around the stadium,hotelsfully booked,andconsumerspendingin the surrounding commercial area increases by 40%.
Theinfluxof sporting events not only brings heat to the venues but also drives the prosperity of surroundingbusinessessuch asdining,retail,training, and other services.Thiscreatesa large number of jobs and injectssustained momentum into thecity’sdevelopment.In 2025,the total scale of Chengdu's sports industry surpassed 150 billion yuan,a year-on-year increase of about 11%.This year,the cityaimstopushthetotal sector scale to 165 billion yuan for its sports industry,with sports consumption total reaching a new level of 87.5 billion yuan.
Professor Chen Linhuiof Chengdu SportUniversitysaidthatthe city should leverage large-scalesports venues to attractinfluential international single-sport events,therebyenrichingindependent brands,professional leagues,and commercial events.At the same time,Chengdu should usesports events to drivecultural and creative exhibitions,featuredperformances,and cultural tourism experiences,whileforming an"event—cultural tourism—commerce"linkage,effectivelyturningspectatortraffic into incrementalgrowth.
