Stay Awhile: What Sports Teams Are Learning About Loyalty Through Space
How habit, presence, and everyday life are shaping the future of fandom
When people talk about the future of sports, the conversation usually leans into scale. There’s an understandable focus on media rights, expansion markets, and digital strategy. These elements matter. They shape business models, influence decisions, and drive growth. Still, they often miss the more personal side of what makes sports work.
Fandom doesn’t just live in data or platforms. It lives in habits, in places, and in the quiet, consistent choice to show up.
A shift beyond the stadium walls
Across the industry, there’s a shift happening—not away from stadiums, but around them. Teams are reimagining the space between the game and everything else. Mixed-use districts are becoming part of the playbook, designed to offer more than an entry gate and a seat. They include retail, dining, parks, and programming that stretch beyond game day. These projects are often positioned as smart investments, and they certainly can be. The recent white paper from Klutch Sports and RBC outlines the economic logic behind them. That lens is important, though it’s only part of the picture.
What makes these districts so compelling isn’t just the value they generate. It’s the way they expand the relationship between teams and the people who follow them.
For fans, the experience starts to feel less like an appointment and more like a rhythm. You might stop by for lunch, meet up with friends after work, or bring your kids to a weekend event. Attending a game becomes one way to engage, not the only one. There’s more freedom to participate on your own terms.
That kind of flexibility matters. It creates room for different kinds of fans and different levels of commitment. Some people want to be there for every whistle and every win, while others thers are drawn to the atmosphere, the shared identity, or simply a sense of place. When a district reflects all of that, it begins to feel like something more than a commercial zone - it can feel like community when done correctly.
Lifetime value, reframed
There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about lifetime value, usually through the lens of spending. What’s starting to evolve is the idea that value can also come from presence. Not just who buys the most, but who shows up the most, who might linger, and who returns without being asked.
Data helps teams understand these patterns, but so does intuition. When people feel welcome, they come back. When they come back often enough, it becomes part of their life - not everything needs to be measured to be meaningful.
Of course, not every project will get it right. A development that works on paper might fall flat in practice, especially when the fan perspective isn’t taken into account. A space can be technically successful and still feel disconnected from the people it was meant to serve. The best districts are the ones that feel intentional, designed not just to attract, but to belong.
People will always seek community through fandom, whether it be at a bar, in their community, or at a stadium - but when it can generate revenue for the team, it can drive lifetime value and improve recall and emotion - which equals a win-win for everyone.
As always, thanks for reading.