Chinese capital pours into sport – from Stephen Curry’s Li-Ning deal to Olympic arenas
Sport is becoming a global asset class, where China is expanding from manufacturing to backing teams, pioneering tech and trading media rights
Private equity firms such as Ares Management, Arctos Sports Partners and RedBird Capital Partners have acquired stakes in teams, leagues and sports-related businesses, while sovereign wealth funds have helped drive franchise valuations to record levels.
A case in point is the rapid expansion of winter sports in the lead-up to and in the wake of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Daniel Kelly, associate dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport at New York University, said China’s heavy investment in infrastructure for the Games had created significant opportunities for major brands.
“In the past four years, China has made tremendous investments in sport participation, growing [access to] ice rinks and building the capacity for participants to partake in Olympic sports throughout the year,” says Kelly.
The number of rinks grew 317 per cent between 2015 and the Games in 2022, while China was able to repurpose 90 per cent of the facilities built for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Expanding access means equipment makers also have more space to play. “Nike has brought out many new augmented winterised gear products, and that growth has seen the market expand throughout China and Asia to many different competitor brands,” says Kelly. “You’re seeing an investment opportunity that just wasn’t there 10 years ago.”
This shift means a wider range of investors – from family offices and private equity funds to specialist co-investment vehicles – are able to gain access to an asset class that was once the preserve of billionaire owners and sovereign wealth funds.
However, top-tier franchises are scarce assets, and access to minority stakes is often relationship-driven and highly competitive. As valuations rise, direct ownership is becoming increasingly expensive, even for sophisticated investors.
This is opening new revenue streams in merchandising, memberships, personalised content and premium experiences – and across the board, China’s hand is becoming more visible.
In 2025, China’s State Council said it aimed to cultivate “world-influential sports enterprises and events”, growing the country’s sports industry to more than 7 trillion yuan (US$1.038 trillion) by 2030.
The document also called for the development of “brand events with independent intellectual property rights and international influence”, underscoring Beijing’s ambition to move beyond manufacturing sporting goods to building globally competitive businesses spanning events, technology, media and consumer services.
You’re seeing an investment opportunity that just wasn’t there 10 years ago
The next frontier lies in direct-to-consumer relationships. Teams can increasingly build one-to-one connections with individual supporters through digital platforms, allowing them to measure the “lifetime value of a fan” in much the same way that consumer companies analyse customer retention and spending patterns.
China’s domestic sports investment market is showing signs of fresh momentum. According to analysis by Chinese media outlet Lanxiong Sports in January, there were 35 sports-related investment deals in China in 2025 worth a combined 1.68 billion yuan (US$249 million), up 18 per cent from the previous year, while the total value of funding increased by 40 per cent.
The strongest activity was concentrated in outdoor brands and “AI + sports”, underscoring how, for many investors, the most attractive opportunities may not necessarily lie in expensive ownership of teams or players themselves.
Instead, the smarter play may be in the supporting technology, infrastructure and services businesses that grow the industry.
These opportunities now span sports medicine, recovery technology, wearable devices, premium apparel, venue technology and fan-engagement platforms.