SPORTCITIES 2026 promotes sports facilities as a sector that drives the economy, employment and tourism

Valladolid, March 11, 2026

The professional trade fair specializing in infrastructure, equipment, maintenance and services for sports facilities, SPORTCITIES Expo&Summit, returns strongly to celebrate its second edition on October 21 and 22 in Valladolid, European City of Sport.

SPORTCITIES, a project co-organized by Feria Valencia, Feria de Valladolid and the professional trade fair operator SHOW2BE, aims to be the response that helps accelerate and promote the development, renovation and construction of sports facilities, as well as active living in municipalities and natural environments.

In its second edition, the event aims to consolidate itself as the main driving force behind a sector to which the Spanish government already allocates around 280 million euros annually, according to the 2025 Sports Statistics Yearbook prepared by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports.

The same document reveals that, of the 43,829 companies dedicated to sports activity in Spain, 80.2% carry out sports activities such as facility management, sports club activities or gym activities.

This reality is also reflected in employment linked to sport, which in 2025 stood at 255,000 people, representing 1.2% of employment in companies dedicated to sports activities such as facility management, club and gym activities, or the manufacture of sports goods or equipment.

The impact on tourism is also significant: more than 5.3 million trips were initiated in 2024 because of sport and accounted for 1.8% of international tourist arrivals in our country.

Raúl Calleja, director of SPORTCITIES, states that “in a context in which sport is already a relevant driver of employment, the economy and tourism, SPORTCITIES aims to consolidate itself as the platform that helps transform sports facilities into true catalysts for the development of our cities”.

He adds that SPORTCITIES is “a national project that offers a great opportunity to promote and accelerate the modernization and digitalization of our sports facilities”.

The initiative was created as a tool for public administrations, managers, operators, architects, technologists and companies that design, build or manage sports spaces, with the aim of offering a professional meeting point where participants can discover innovative solutions, share knowledge and create partnerships that drive the renewal of sports infrastructure.

For his part, the general director of Feria de Valladolid, Alberto Alonso, referred to the second edition of SPORTCITIES as an “exciting project for many reasons”, among which he highlighted “the challenge of consolidating and advancing the excellent debut held at Feria Valencia last autumn; the satisfaction of developing a collaboration model with Feria Valencia and the operator Show2be and, of course, offering the sports industry, public administrations, educational institutions and citizens a setting in which to generate business, dissemination and knowledge”.

Alonso also explained that the second edition of SPORTCITIES will coincide with the launch of Match Point, a fair that will bring together sports federations and tournament organizers with municipalities and provinces interested in hosting those competitions.

The event is designed to bring together various exhibition sectors such as: Infrastructure and equipment for sports facilities; Sportech: management, digitalization and operation of facilities and sports events; Active urban planning, furniture for public spaces and sport for all; Equipment and services for fitness, wellness and high performance; Cities and pro-sport territories; Professional technical fashion and sports equipment and Medicine, sports health, rehabilitation and recovery.

Mariano Clemente, general director of Feria Valencia, highlights that the edition held in 2025 at the Valencia venue marked “the launch of a professional platform that demonstrated the existence of structural demand around sports infrastructure, active urban management and innovation applied to sport”, and emphasizes that this forum contributes to moving towards “healthier, more sustainable, inclusive and technologically advanced cities”.

He also points out that the new edition in Valladolid will represent “a new boost to its positioning within the sector calendar, strengthening its role as an environment for generating knowledge, business opportunities and institutional collaboration”.

What to expect from SPORTCITIES 2026

SPORTCITIES 2026 expects to bring together around one hundred brands and participating companies, more than 2,500 professional attendees and five specialized content forums: FITNESS4cities, SportechLAB, Sportainment Venues, Sportfriendly Cities and Hospitality & Sport Travel Forum.

Among the main new features of the 2026 edition is sport climbing as the guest sport, an Olympic discipline that has continued to grow globally since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

This choice is no coincidence, given that it is an activity especially aligned with the values of sustainability, inclusion and urban adaptability, with low environmental impact and strong tourism, educational and social potential.

SPORTCITIES 2026 will also host the F7 Summit Spain26, promoted by Football 7 Worldwide (F7WW), a strategic meeting that aims to consolidate the international projection of the FIFA Football 7 project. This forum will bring together institutional leaders, clubs, international federations, investors and key figures from the sports ecosystem, with the aim of strengthening the alliances needed to promote the global development of this discipline and advance Spain’s bid to host the Football 7 World Cup in 2029.

Another major new feature of this second edition will be the celebration of a Sports Architecture Congress, conceived as a space for reflection and debate on the role of sports infrastructure in the transformation of cities. Architects, urban planners, engineers, developers and public managers will share experiences and projects that address the design of sports facilities from an innovative, sustainable perspective focused on social cohesion and urban development.

The event will also host the first edition of the SPORTCITIES Global Awards 2026, awards that aim to become the leading international recognition at the intersection of sport, city, innovation and urban development.

As a sector meeting point, SPORTCITIES Expo&Summit will once again have the active collaboration of leading sector organizations such as FEMP, AEESDAP, FNEID, FAGDE, ASPEC, among others, consolidating itself as a unique platform that connects administrations, professionals and companies around the future of the sports ecosystem.

SC 365: the digital platform for the SPORTCITIES community

The SC 365 digital platform is the other major new feature of SPORTCITIES 2026: a virtual environment with access to 100% of leads and specialized content, making it possible to be part of a community with which to interact, beyond the in-person event.

Through SC 365, both exhibitors and visitors have access to 100% of the leads generated, allowing them to connect with industry professionals and create new business opportunities, as well as access the company catalogue, the program, the Summit activities and all key event information.

Valladolid, European City of Sport

In 2026, Valladolid will hold the title of European City of Sport, awarded by ACES Europe, the Brussels-based non-profit association that grants these awards annually.

The Councillor for Citizen Participation and Sports of Valladolid, Mayte Martínez, has stated on more than one occasion that “Valladolid breathes sport on all four sides” and that it has more than 20,000 daily users across its many sports facilities, as well as an average participation of more than 16,500 people and 1,500 teams in school sport, according to official sources.

SPORTCITIES Expo&Summit 2025 in images

Access here the full image gallery of SPORTCITIES Expo&Summit 2025.

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Press & Communication Contact
Leticia Pastor
600 92 42 79
leticia.pastor@show2be.com