The Sport Industry Report 2026: Fan Experience
Sports and entertainment venues in the UK are in the midst of another generational shift.
Everton’s striking Hill Dickinson Stadium became the latest Premier League landmark last August, transforming the horizons of the club and its Bramley-Moore Dock setting. Down in London, meanwhile, the Fulham Riverside revamp was a glamourous new addition to venerable old Craven Cottage.
Redevelopments are planned or underway at major grounds throughout UK football, cricket and rugby – including at Lord’s and Twickenham – with many other teams rethinking their operations and facilities to deliver greater revenue opportunities and provide more value to local communities and businesses.
As Populous Global Director and Senior Principal Declan Sharkey explains in this chapter, the reaffirmation of sports venues as “civic architecture” will be a pivotal trend in 2026 and beyond.
For all that, the fundamentals remain crucial. Asked in the Sport Industry Report survey to select the most important factor in their overall sporting experience from a list of options, 43% of fans and 63% of professionals chose ‘the general atmosphere’. 42% of fans and 61% of the industry cohort went for ‘the quality of the game itself’.
Great venues, above all, are stages for great events.
A grander day out
Respondents also tended to emphasise baseline expectations away from the field of play. 30% of fans and 41% of professionals said the ease of getting to and from an event was a key factor in their matchday experience, with another 37% of fans citing safety and security.
But while the ‘festivalisation’ of events was only a priority for 16% of fans and 21% of professionals, elements of it were seen as potential improvements to the experience. 46% of industry professionals said that fan zones and music might make them more likely to attend events in future, while 27% of fans and 25% of professionals cited food options that better reflect the cuisine of the local area. 25% of fans saw social games like darts, mini-golf and table football around the sport as similarly appealing.
There is ample scope for creativity, then, but innovation that directly serves the fan was more popular than the application of technology for its own sake. 31% of fans and 36% of professionals said the ability to order food and drink to their seats from their smartphones would make them likelier to attend; just 15% of fans and 16% of professionals were interested in automated concessions.
Setting the standard
Despite ongoing changes in the live event and venue space, both fans and professionals were likeliest to view familiar favourites as class-leaders.
Asked to rank the facilities that best represent UK sport on an international stage, professionals put Wimbledon on top with 37%, while 36% of fans went for Wembley Stadium.
The home of football was also deemed most likely to stand the test of time, with 75% of fans and 86% of professionals expecting it will still be considered iconic in 20 years.
The industry group were generally more aware of international venues polled than the general fan. Of those, they chose the pioneering Las Vegas Sphere (45%) and Real Madrid’s remodelled Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as the venues that UK operators could learn the most from, followed by the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles (33%). The Bernabéu topped the fan list with 20%.
