Sports industry experts weigh in on the game’s latest trends

The GIST: Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released its annual Global Sports Survey last Friday. The report surveyed 411 sports leaders from across 46 countries to distill a global perspective on the industry today, while also sharing short-term predictions. The verdict? She’s got next.

📈 Women’s sports are headed to the moon. Among industry leaders, 85% predict double-digit revenue growth for the sector in the next three to five years. Their advice for boosting audiences includes improving event promotion (18%), live broadcasts (16%), and matchday experiences (13%). Respondents also proposed better athlete storytelling and family-friendly scheduling.

• The NWSL’s KC Current has been busy heeding this advice. Newly-opened CPKC Stadium — the world’s first designed specifically for a women’s pro sports team — takes matchday experiences seriously, proving quality stadiums are full stadiums.

🎮 The top investment areas track with trends. Experts described teams and leagues (41%), gaming (22%), and tech (17%) as top areas for investment. Minority investment and joint venture investment were also identified as key trends (both 36%) as sport-specific investment funds and athlete-backed funds also rise in popularity. Putting the “fun” in fund.

• These trends are currently reshaping the women’s game. After the NWSL issued rules on private equity (PE) investment in March, firms were involved in the purchases of the San Diego Wave and Seattle Reign.

♻️ Multi-location hosting models should be the new normal. With 44% noting that financial concerns are a key barrier to hosting sporting events, 64% believe there needs to be new hosting models, and 60% believe utilization of existing venues will increase.

• At least 86% believe multi-location hosting models will become predominant for major sporting events — think LA28, which is moving its softball and canoe slalom events to Oklahoma.

🤖 Getting ahead means getting artificial intelligence (AI). It’s a gamechanger for the sports industry, but industry leaders aren’t plugged in. While 59% of respondents overall don’t yet have a clear generative AI (GenAI) strategy, it’s worse among sports organizations — 67% don’t even have a plan for GenAI, and 15% don’t see it as relevant for their business. Missing out on a bot.