Towards the model of super sports center (*): Building a sports economic foundation

Not stopping at the administrative-technical model, the merger of the sports industry of the three localities of Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau is positioned as the first step in the roadmap to create a specific sports economic sector.

Public-private partnership method

Sports will not only aim for high performance but will become an economic sector, creating jobs, promoting tourism,education and innovation. When sports centers are linked to urban areas, tourism, production and research, each athlete will become a "technological citizen" - trained, managed by data platforms, measured by AI performance, and cared for according to the "precision science sports" model.

Hướng đến mô hình siêu trung tâm thể thao (*): Xây dựng nền tảng kinh tế thể thao- Ảnh 1. — Ho Chi Minh City is a pioneer in organizing community sports events to stimulate the economy. In the photo: Flyboard performance on the Saigon River at the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City River Festival. Photo: HOANG TRIEU

The new strategy requires a flexible management system, operating under a comprehensive digital model, and mobilizing investment under the public-private partnership (PPP) model in sports complexes, research centers, and high-tech training centers. Legal bases such as the revised Law on Physical Education and Sports (2018) and the Project on Developing Physical Education and Sports in Vietnam to 2030 are the foundation for this shift.

Forming an ecosystem

Professional sports, especially professional football, are not a "higher development step" from high-performance sports. These two systems have different natures, goals and operating mechanisms. High-performance sports operate with state budget and socialized resources, oriented towards national and international achievements; while professional sports can only exist and develop in a market sports economic ecosystem, with corporate structure, private investment mechanism, media - copyright - sponsorship - trade and athlete transfer as the core operations.

It is impossible to expect Vietnamese professional football to succeed without an ecosystem that includes commercial-standard stadiums, a youth player training system based on the club-academy model, audiences paying for tickets and television rights, and businesses willing to invest long-term...

Ho Chi Minh City, the most dynamic urban area in the country, is meeting all the conditions to become a center for professional sports and professional football development. From planning multi-purpose sports complexes, developing sports clubs with their own tournaments, to attracting strategic investors and forming an "audience - media - sponsorship" ecosystem, Ho Chi Minh City can lead the transformation of Vietnam's professional sports in the coming period.

In the context of a young population and a strong increase in demand for sports consumption, the expanded Ho Chi Minh City area is a "fertile land" for the sports market. The resonance from the three localities will help expand the scale of the sports consumer market; promote socialized investment in modern facilities; and develop sports - tourism - resort models.

This is also a step in line with the goal of the Vietnam Sports Development Project to 2030, which is to build a top-notch sports force, turn sports into an industry, and contribute to the national GDP. Ho Chi Minh City, as the leading force, will be the center to realize this strategy.

(*) See Lao Dong Newspaper from issue dated May 20

The merger is not just a consolidation of units but a synergy of models, integration of resources, opening up a smart, professional and effective sports model. If we take advantage of the opportunity, this will be a historic "transformation", creating a comprehensive sports super center - where sports are not only soft power but also a symbol of a creative, modern and sustainable economy, thereby affirming the position of Vietnamese sports in the international arena.