SPORTCITIES arrives in Valencia, the tool for modernising public and private sports facilities

Valencia, November 14, 2025.

The countdown begins for one of the most anticipated sector events of 2025 for the entire sports facilities ecosystem in Southern Europe. On November 19 and 20, the first edition of SPORTCITIES Expo & Summit will take place, a new professional trade show specialized in infrastructure, equipment, maintenance and services for sports facilities.

The project, jointly designed by Feria Valencia, Feria de Valladolid and the professional trade fair operator Show2Be, is the first professional event in Southern Europe specialized in infrastructure, equipment, maintenance and services for sports facilities and seeks to contribute to the democratization of sports practice and active living in cities, municipalities and natural environments, through the promotion of public-private investment in facilities ahead of the first half of 2026.

In the words of the Director of SPORTCITIES, Raúl Calleja, “SPORTCITIES is born as a country-level project with a very clear vocation: to be a useful and effective instrument in the service of the modernization and digitalization of our sports facilities, both public and private. At a key moment for the transformation of the sports ecosystem, we believe it is essential to have a platform that allows us to accelerate the actions needed to adapt our sports spaces to the challenges of the present and the future.”

Calleja also highlights that it is “a collective initiative. A collaboration platform that drives, connects and articulates all the sector stakeholders that promote the project. Under the slogan ‘Cities in Motion’, SPORTCITIES aims to lead from the local level a transformation and modernization of sports infrastructures and facilities as a strategic commitment at the service of the community, health, social cohesion, sustainability and innovation.”

The Director General of Sports of the Valencian Community, Mr. Luis Cervera, will be responsible for officially inaugurating this first edition on November 19 at 1:00 p.m., at the SPORTFRIENDLY CITIES forum, and will be accompanied by other institutional and sector representatives.

The largest Summit on the Iberian Peninsula for sports facilities

Within the framework of this major event, the SPORTCITIES Summit 2025 will be held, a congress space that will bring together over two days more than one hundred speakers, institutional and municipal representatives, sports managers, supplier companies, startups, sports clusters, high-performance centers, technologists, architects, hotel and campsite managers, and professionals from the sports industry.

The SPORTCITIES Summit will be structured around five thematic forums addressing the main challenges, opportunities and trends that will shape the future of sports facilities and active urbanism.

• FITNESS4CITIES Forum: Led by consultant and sports management expert Pere Solanellas, this forum will focus on the evolution of fitness as a key element of citizen wellbeing and as an industry undergoing full technological, digital and social transformation. Confirmed speakers include Juan Ramón Gabino (Country Manager of EGYM and sponsor of this forum), Alfredo Jiménez, President of the Association of Clubs and Gyms of Mexico, Jordi Bonich (CEO of TRIB3), Antonio Monerris, CEO of Brain Ventures, and Alexander Kolobnev (CEO of SYNCHOSFERA).
• SPORTAINMENT VENUES Forum: This specialized forum will explore the diversity of uses, commercial activation of large sports spaces and the digitalization of sports venues, from stadiums to multifunctional arenas such as Roig Arena, La Alquería del Básquet, La Nueva Romareda, Nou Mestalla, or Camp Nou, among others. Notable speakers include Natalia Branson (Head of Content at Roig Arena), project leaders from firms such as ERRE, Fenwick Iribarren Architects, Solurban, and Fran Carrasco (CEO of Molcaworld and sponsor of this forum). Sessions on safety and protection in sports facilities will also be held on November 20.
• HOSPITALITY & SPORT TRAVEL FORUM: Sports hotels and campsites have ceased to be an emerging trend and have become a growing business model. These sessions bring together sector leaders who have adopted a 360º approach, integrating sport and wellbeing into the guest experience. From cycling and triathlon to fitness and wellness, speakers will share how they have transformed their value proposition to attract a new type of traveler: active, demanding and loyal. These sessions are supported by HOSBEC and Turesport.
• SPORTECH LAB Forum: Innovation will be the main focus of this forum dedicated to technological and research solutions transforming the management and design of sports facilities. Confirmed participants include entities such as GEPACV (Association of Sports Managers of the Valencian Community), the Valencia Institute of Biomechanics (IBV), Barcelona Sports Hub, INDESCAT and the Valencian Sports Industry Cluster. This forum will take place inside a padel court, with Euronix as infrastructure partner.
• SPORTFRIENDLY CITIES Forum: The most institutional block of the Summit, located inside a multi-sport court by Urbeadapta —infrastructure partner— with Kompan as forum sponsor, will bring together mayors, municipal technicians and urban managers to debate the impact and role of sport and the hosting of sports events as territorial strategies and tools for social cohesion, urban development and economic revitalization. Inclusive and longevity-focused sports spaces will play a prominent role thanks to a presentation by B2Sport, along with other dynamics and activities.

Strong sectoral and institutional support

SPORTCITIES enjoys broad institutional support that reflects its strategic and cross-cutting nature.

The project is backed by the regional administrations of the Valencian Community and Castilla y León, as well as by the three provincial councils of the Valencian Community. At municipal level, support includes the Valencia City Council, the Valladolid City Council, the Municipal Sports Foundation and Valencia Innovation Capital.

In the academic and knowledge sphere, the commitment of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) is added. Likewise, SPORTCITIES integrates the active collaboration of leading sector organizations such as FEMP, AEESDAP, SEED, FNEID, FAGDE, ASPEC, Spain is Sport, Turesport, HOSBEC, COLECV, GEPACV, the Valencian Sports Industry Cluster, IAKS and AGEDECYL, consolidating itself as a unique platform connecting administrations, professionals and companies around the future of the sports ecosystem.

Pickleball: SPORTCITIES 2025 Guest Sport

Pickleball will be the guest sport at this edition of SPORTCITIES, consolidating itself as an emerging discipline that combines accessibility, dynamism and social impact.

Thanks to the collaboration of StridePickleball, an official court will be installed at the heart of the pavilion, where a full agenda of activities will take place on November 19 and 20.

From open sessions to discover the sport, institutional exhibitions as part of the “Pickleball Pro Experience”, quick matches between attendees under the PickExpress format, to the long-awaited 1st SPORTCITIES Pickleball Open, this proposal aims to bring visitors closer to one of the fastest-growing sports internationally. A unique opportunity to experience, try and understand why Pickleball is conquering sports spaces around the world.

Next stop: Valladolid 2026

The cities of Valencia and Valladolid will alternate annually as host venues to ensure comprehensive coverage across the Spanish territory, drawing the Diagonal Axis of Sport: a model designed to generate synergies between the business, sports and social fabric of each geographic area, along with regional and local institutions.

For this reason, the Castilian capital will host the second edition of SPORTCITIES on October 21 and 22, 2026, at Feria de Valladolid.

Press & Communication Contact:

- Leticia Pastor Aleixandre – Head of Marketing & Communication of FIS
leticia.pastor@show2be.com / 600 92 42 79