Sports events power high-quality development in Linyi

A series of sports events has energized Linyi in East China's Shandong province this autumn. The 26th Shandong Province Sports Games closed at the Linyi Olympic Sports Park gymnasium on Sept 5, the finals of the 4th Red Yimeng "City BA" basketball league tipped off at Linyi Basketball Park on Sept 12, and the 12th Provincial Games for Persons with Disabilities & 1st Special Olympics Games of Shandong Province opened on Sept 17.

It was the first time the provincial games were held in Linyi, a former revolutionary base area, bringing more than 13,000 athletes to compete in 38 sports and 1,081 events.

The city has taken the hosting of the games as an opportunity for urban development, taking an integrated approach to hosting events, building the city, benefiting residents and developing industries. It built or renovated 33 competition venues to high standards, creating a layout featuring a core venue, coordinated county and district facilities and citywide coverage, and added or upgraded more than 4,000 fitness facilities in urban and rural areas, improving the "15-minute fitness life circle."

The new venues have met the needs of high-level professional events and become platforms for serving residents, empowering industries and showcasing the city. Events such as the FIVB Men's Volleyball Challenger Cup and the CBA league have been held at the Linyi Olympic Sports Park, which has also hosted concerts by major artists.

Public participation has deepened. The Red Yimeng "City BA," launched in 2023, has attracted 152 teams and more than 2,000 basketball enthusiasts, and was named a national quality public event for the three major ball games by the General Administration of Sport of China. The China League Two football match, the first national professional football event hosted by Linyi, brought Yimeng culture to a national audience through all-media coverage; after it settled in Linyi, Shandong Taishan's B team introduced its youth training approach and connected with 268 national campus football demonstration schools in the city.

The city has also promoted events in scenic areas, commercial streets and business districts, with grassroots tournaments flourishing across the region.

Sports have become an engine of urban development. In 2025, total sports consumption in Linyi reached 24.35 billion yuan ($3.4 billion), ranking third in the province. During the provincial games, Linyi launched a "Watch the Games, Tour Linyi" campaign with eight premium travel routes, linking more than 300 scenic areas, hotels, guesthouses and specialty businesses offering benefits to ticket holders. The games drew more than 280,000 local visits, generating 1.3 billion yuan in direct consumption and 3.5 billion yuan in related consumption.

In 2025, the city hosted 73 national and provincial high-level events, including CBA, WCBA and China women's basketball warm-up games and the China Motorboat Open, up 38 percent year-on-year, attracting more than 350,000 participants and spectators from outside the city and driving 1.6 billion yuan in consumption across the chain, with more than 2 billion views of city sports-related publicity.

In 2026, Linyi plans to host more than 200 major events, including the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Nations League, CBA, WCBA, China League Two and the Shandong Provincial Football Super League, and more than 3,000 sports events of various levels, continuing to convert event traffic and spectator enthusiasm into consumption and industrial growth.

Editor：韩蒙蒙