Consumption Upgrading Effect of Community Sports FacilitiesAn Empirical Analysis Based on Household Sports Consumption

This study examines the effect of community sports facilities on household sports consumption by integrating data on sports venues within a 1 km radius of communities and household consumption data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), thereby providing empirical evidence to support the accelerated development of community sports facilities and the sports industry, and promoting household consumption upgrades. The findings indicate that the construction of community sports facilities significantly boosts per capita household sports consumption expenditure, and this conclusion remains consistent when using the total area of sports land grants within a 1 km radius as an instrumental variable and conducting a series of robustness checks. The key mechanism behind this is the increase in participatory, physical, and spectator sports consumption driven by community sports facilities. The consumption upgrading effect of these facilities is characterized by inclusiveness and mass appeal; the construction of community sports venues promotes sports consumption among households of varying income and leisure levels, with a more substantial impact observed for popular sports such as ball games and fitness activities.