Abstract: Sports events are not only a stage for competition, but also an important catalyst for innovative development. Based on the panel data of 296 prefecture-level administrative regions in China from 2010 to 2023, this paper uses the difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the impact of comprehensive sports events on innovation in the sports industry. The results show that: the hosting of sports events can significantly promote the innovation of the local sports industry; mechanism analysis indicates that sports events promote the innovation of the local sports industry by attracting the establishment of more sports enterprises; heterogeneity analysis shows that the innovation effect of sports events is more significant in economically developed cities, event host cities, for utility model patents and invention patents, and for enterprise subjects. Further research reveals that although sports events have effectively increased the number of applications and authorizations for sports-related patents, they have not significantly improved the quality of patents, leading to the hidden danger of "pseudo-innovation" under the "quantity-oriented" tendency. Based on the above research, this paper puts forward policy suggestions to optimize the role of sports events in guiding innovation, so as to provide theoretical support and decision-making reference for the innovative development of China's sports events and sports industry.