The Zhitong Finance App learned that Wanlian Securities released a research report saying that the competition economy is in a historical window where consumption structure changes, policy dividends, and business model inflection points resonate. In comparison with overseas markets, China's leading tournament is on the eve of a switch from competition feudal to sponsorship and ticket volume, while global media copyright is in a historic inflation cycle, providing a clear reference for the revaluation of domestic competition IP values. It is recommended to pay attention to: (1) event operators that have obtained the right to operate core events and have the ability to replicate across categories; (2) segment leaders in the field of venue materials and fitness equipment with qualifications and brand barriers; (3) the beer, energy drinks, and instant retail sectors that are deeply tied to the event scene during the competition cycle.
The main views of Wanlian Securities are as follows:
Incidents
On September 30, 2026, the General Office of the State Council issued “Opinions on Developing Sports Events to Stimulate Consumer Vitality”, which deploys 17 main tasks in five areas: strengthening the supply of events, deepening the integrated development of events, stimulating event consumption vitality, consolidating the foundation of event development, and improving management and guarantee capabilities. It is proposed to basically form a modern competition system with Chinese characteristics by 2030 to cultivate a number of world-influential sporting events.
The policy gripper is clear, and supply expansion and scenario integration go hand in hand
As the first special policy for the tournament economy to be implemented, the “Opinion” makes systematic arrangements around the tournament economy. The policy is specific and the starting point is clear. (1) On the supply side of the competition, it is proposed to establish a clear and orderly professional competition system, improve the classification standards for professional events, promote the connection between professional events and amateur events, and clearly and vigorously develop professional leagues such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, ice hockey, baseball, Go, etc., and support the hosting of high-level professional events such as tennis, sailing, boxing, billiards, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, etc., while encouraging high-quality domestic and foreign capital to invest in various professional events at all levels and create new professional consumer events according to law and regulations; (2) End, dig deeper into the integration of events, cultural tourism, and business Potential, it is proposed to create brand activities such as “travel with the event” and “enjoy exciting events and enjoy Chinese food”, encourage restaurants, retail and other merchants to launch exclusive event ticket offers to activate secondary consumption, guide commercial complexes, business districts, and neighborhoods to introduce events according to local conditions, and support places in a position to do so to create “second scene” and competition-themed accommodation and dining scenes to simultaneously promote the development of content products such as event-themed movies, short dramas, and short videos; (3) clearly cultivate a number of highly competitive and specialized content products in the market Tournament operator, support Enterprises in the fields of cultural media, fitness and leisure, equipment manufacturing, scientific and technological innovation participate in the hosting and operation of events, promote the integration of stadium design, construction, operation and management and encourage social forces to participate in stadium operations. At the same time, in a reasonable and orderly manner, promote the further opening of mountains, forests, roads and other public resources to sporting events, explore the establishment of a negative list system, deepen the “efficient execution of a thing” of competition services, and expand the scope of parallel approval matters.
The core benefits of the tournament operation process, and the venue operation and integrated consumption were carried out in sequence
Judging from the transmission of the industry chain, this policy supports the tournament operation process most directly, followed by the stadium operation process, which is expected to benefit from derivative consumption scenarios and upstream supply levels such as sports equipment and venue materials in the medium to long term.
(1) Tournament operation: On the one hand, the “Opinion” proposes “raising the level of professional competition development and encouraging high-quality capital at home and abroad to invest in various professional events at all levels”, which is expected to directly expand the scale and schedule density of the competition; on the other hand, clearly cultivate specialized tournament operators to provide policy endorsement for the operator's dominant position in the market; at the same time, it also proposes “making good use of structural monetary policy tools such as service consumption and pension refinancing, and increasing financial support for eligible players”, which is expected to ease the financial constraints of tournament operators and improve the quality of cash flow.
(2) Stadium operation: The policy promotes the integration of stadium design, construction, operation and management. Stadium operators can intervene in advance during the planning and construction phase to prolong the business cycle. The policy also proposes to carry out technological, intelligent, and digital transformation to meet the hardware update needs of existing stadiums such as smart security, ticket verification, and energy consumption management. Companies with system integration capabilities are expected to receive incremental orders; the marketization of security services is also expected to reduce security costs during the event.
(3) Derivative consumption scenarios: The ticketing economy uses tickets as a link to extend one-time ticket consumption for spectators to secondary consumption in restaurants and retail. The “second scene” of the competition guides business districts and neighborhoods to organize group spectators to supplement the traffic flow outside the venue; the event-themed lodging, catering, and beer consumption scenarios are expected to benefit from increased event density over the long term.
(4) Sports equipment and venue materials: The “Opinion” suggests “encouraging enterprises to innovate services and product supply around events and accelerate the development and upgrading of products such as ice and snow equipment, smart wearable equipment, and high-performance sports flooring”. The increase in national fitness facility construction and the demand for site renewal are expected to become a driving force for the long-term growth of the industry. Since professional competition scenarios require corresponding certification, leading enterprises with qualifications and integrated construction capabilities are more capable of bargaining in government tenders.
Risk factors: 1. The pace of policy implementation and supporting rules fall short of the expected risk. 2. Safety of the event and the risk of public emergencies. 3. Macroeconomic recovery falls short of the expected risk.