Shenzhen unveils sports industry development measures

Shenzhen unveiled a package of 20 measures for the high-quality development of the sports industry, the implementation plan on building a pilot city of sports consumption published in the latest government gazette showed.

The high-quality development of the sports industry will be promoted from six aspects, including ensuring land supply and sports facilities, improving policies, supporting quality development of competitive sports and vocational sports, leading public fitness activities, guaranteeing sports products and services supply.

By the end of 2022, the city will form replicable and typical sports consumption experiences. By 2025, the city’s sports industry will take the lead among Chinese cities, in which residents participating in sports will reach 40 percent and citizens’ physical health exam qualification rate will reach 92 percent.

The sports industry’s added value is aimed to surpass 100 billion yuan (US$15.48 billion). And based on the plan, the city will implement a three-year plan to construct sporting facilities, compile construction of the city’s major sports and cultural facilities, and construct professional sports pitches on par with world sports cities.

In competitive and professional sports, the city will prioritize football, basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, tennis and hockey. The city will also promote aquatic sports, ice and snow sports, climbing, drone racing and baseball. The city will encourage districts to construct training bases for national football, basketball and track and field teams. The city will also introduce international first-class sports games and organize at least 30 international sports events a year.

In sports products and services supply, the city will try to build its sports event brand that is influential globally and form enterprises that are globally competitive. The city will guide and support social institutions to develop sports training courses for various age groups, popularize sports criteria for the general public, organize sports festivals and build Shenzhen Sports Museum.

The plan also puts forward the mechanism of opening school sports facilities to the public during weekend, official holidays, and winter and summer holidays, as well as encouraging districts to set up professional companies to operate these facilities.