Sports teams and institutions know well the emotional connection they have with their fans: of memorable performances, traditions, and hope, often built over decades and generations. Undertaking a sports-anchored real estate project is an extension of that relationship. For new districts, the foundation of masterplanning and development strategy must be that same attentiveness to audience – listening to what their community wants, reflecting what’s special about their city, and representing the team’s spirit in approach and product.

Many sports-oriented districts involve multiple development partners; a common example is a tenant team who occupies an anchor venue and is the driver for the district, alongside one or more real estate developers who bring deep experience designing and delivering complex mixed-use projects. Each brings different skillsets that should be brought together in a place strategy that merges experiential and market insights. Even more importantly, partners each bring their own principles and objectives, which must be brought together in a shared development vision and set of values as a non-negotiable first step.

Thinking at a masterplan scale provides huge opportunity to extend game-goer dwell time with a curated entertainment district offer that invites pre- and post-game shopping, dining, drinking and even overnight accommodation. This also extends beyond ticket-holders to a team’s wider fanbase, inviting them into a collective experience and passionate atmosphere present both home and away. Outdoor space is a too-often-overlooked lever here; the best public realm plans for pop-up programming and watch parties from the earliest design stage.

Whether it’s 8, 19, 41 or 81 days a year, major sports teams generate excitement, attention and revenue at their home stadiums on game day. Movement and experiential infrastructure must be capable of embracing these peak crowds. True place success, however, is made by non-game days: the ordinary weekdays, the off-season, the quieter periods between major events. Mixed-use sports-anchored districts need careful design and intentional curation so they feel vibrant and attract footfall year-round, especially necessary for the viability of on-site retail and hospitality uses.

Places designed around one-off or annual events have even more of a challenge, commanding regional, national or global attention intensively – and temporarily. These moments can unlock investment and create momentum, but the real challenge is creating a district that remains relevant and animated during the other fifty-one weeks of the year. Development teams must think carefully about how they build an ecosystem around marque events to realise value and vibrancy year-round.

Most people want to live and work in places that feel like ‘communities’ – and not necessarily ‘destinations’. The brand leverage and entertainment district offer that are the natural first fit for stadiums are enticing to future residents and workers, but may not be enough alone to maximise demand and financial value. So, if residential or commercial uses are key elements of the district masterplan and especially of the proforma, then special care needs to be given to daily needs retail and social infrastructure that supports everyday life.

Not every sports-anchored district is centred on a stadium, or the fandom or spectatorship that comes with anchor team tenants; instead, places like golf destinations, ski resorts, tournament venues, outdoor recreation areas and training centres are driven by participation, and the line between ‘athlete’ and ‘customer’ blurs, often spanning both amateurs and professionals. Here, sport is even more embedded in the mix of real estate uses and amenities, and influences everything from demand seasonality to the need for complementary programming. Nurturing repeat visitorship for tourism and leisure audiences becomes a key goal.

Too many real estate projects, including sports-anchored developments, are beginning to look and feel interchangeable – inauthentic and disconnected to their locations. The strongest projects draw from the culture, landscape, history and communities that already exist around them. Building that distinct identity is not only about being true to an anchor team or event: it is about capitalising on sports venues as catalyst to create sustained market demand and greater financial value across mixed-use districts that are undeniably rooted in their places.