The Fandom Effect: Sports Urbanism 2026
How Sports, Place, and Civic Joy Can Reignite Our Urban Centers
As part of a larger study of sports-anchored mixed-use districts (SMDs) used during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Oxford Economics and Gensler surveyed 5,858 people in 17 North American markets. Findings were used to establish a pre-tournament baseline to understand engagement and experiences with venues across the host region.
Visiting a stadium has become about much more than the game. Fans travelling from near and far want to take advantage of everything stadiums and their surrounding neighborhoods have to offer, from dining and retail to fan experiences. Visitors often turn a game into a full day out, while avid fans see a stadium not just as a place to watch sports, but as part of a routine. Additionally, on days without an event scheduled, stadiums sit on space with potential to draw larger audiences through communal events and family-friendly programming. Many avid fans (64%) already make use of these areas, while an overwhelming 94% of those surveyed claim they would make use of the area surrounding a stadium if their preferred programming was in place.
Yet lack of safety, limited access due to inconvenient locations, and the rising costs of attendance deter many from becoming frequent visitors to these districts. 85% claim ticket prices have become too expensive, and nearly a fifth (16%) have avoided a venue in the past due to safety concerns. Download the report to uncover how respondents rate their experiences and how stadiums can tailor programming to attract more visitors year round.
The experts behind the research
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Edward ConeEditorial Director, Thought Leadership
Editorial Director Edward Cone oversees global research programs for our Thought Leadership group. As Technology Practice Lead he works with clients such as Google, Accenture, IBM, SAP, and many others. His areas of focus include Artificial Intelligence, the impact of technology on business performance, and healthcare organizations.
Edward joined the firm in 2012 after more than two decades as a business and technology journalist based in New York, Paris, and North Carolina, including stints as an editor and writer at various Ziff Davis magazines (CIO Insight, Baseline), a contributing editor at Wired, and a staff writer at Forbes.
Edward also wrote a weekly newspaper opinion column for many years in his hometown of Greensboro, NC and authored a semi-popular blog. He has contributed to a bewildering variety of magazines and papers on topics ranging from politics to rock climbing and was a frequent speaker and organizer at new media conferences across the country. Honors for his work include the 2020 Rybczynski Prize, awarded for the best essay on economics by Society of Professional Economists, and various awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the North Carolina Press Association. He has a BA from Haverford College.
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Matthew ReynoldsSenior Research Manager, Thought Leadership
Matt manages a broad spectrum of technology-centric Thought Leadership programs, from cloud and software innovation to how organizations can participate in the metaverse. He has led successful programs for dozens of large organizations during his tenure at Oxford Economics, including SAP, PwC, NTT Data, Accenture, IBM, and EY. Matt’s experience gives him deep knowledge of the ins and outs of successful end-to-end program management, and he is an integral part of the Thought Leadership team.
With the organization since 2015, Matt holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from The College of New Jersey. He is scheduled to graduate with an MBA in IT and Analytics at the Rutgers School of Business in May, 2023.
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Aidan O’FarrellResearch Manager, Thought Leadership
Aidan joined the Oxford Economics team in 2023 to support the Thought Leadership technology practice on research programs and project operations. Coming from a product management background, Aidan previously shepherded his growth ops team at a pre-seed tech startup through Series A funding. His prior experience includes extensive work on survey writing, design, coding, and data analysis, and he holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in the History of Science & Technology from Brown University.
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Revan AponsoResearch Associate, Thought Leadership
Revan's research experience covers a variety of areas from venture capital and affordable lending to supply chain logistics and advanced manufacturing. Revan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from New York University, where he also served as a staff writer for the university's Economics Review.
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