Macao’s ambitions to become a leading regional and global hub for sports and entertainment – a hybrid sector dubbed “sportainment” – took centre stage at the morning session of the final day of the Asian IR Summit 2025, held at the Galaxy International Convention Centre yesterday.
Speakers noted that the integration of sports and entertainment (a concert following a football game, for example) was an increasingly powerful driver of economic growth and diversification. They noted that Macao’s unique cultural and geographical strengths could help position the city as a leading sportainment hub in the Asia-Pacific region as well as on the global stage.
In a roundtable session titled Enhancing Macao’s Position as a Regional and Global ‘Sportainment’ Hub, top-level executives from the SAR’s casino-resorts discussed what transforming Macao into a premier destination for sports-led entertainment might entail.
The panel featured Kevin Benning, senior vice president and general manager of Melco’s Studio City; Jeffrey Jiang, executive vice president of entertainment services at Galaxy Entertainment Group; and Michael Jensen, senior vice president of strategic optimisation at Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace.
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Jensen emphasised the importance of delivering “quality events” and world-class experiences to attract high-value visitors, and said that sportainment needed to be presented as “something worthwhile, something memorable” in order to draw sizable crowds.
He gave Wynn’s recent golf tournament, the International Series held at the Macau Golf and Country Club, as an example of how his concessionaire manages to host such events without a stadium like Galaxy Arena.
Benning, meanwhile, stressed the need for greater coordination between integrated resort operators, to avoid scheduling conflicts. He also brought up the importance of featuring A-list athletes and celebrities to boost an event’s profile, using Taiwanese-American basketball star Jeremy Lin’s involvement in the East Asia Super League as an example.
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Jiang acknowledged that Macao’s current infrastructure, including venue capacity and accommodation for international guests, remained a barrier to hosting major global events. He said the next five to 10 years should bring significant improvements, but noted that government collaboration – as is seen in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore – would be essential.
The speakers said they were looking forward to the upcoming National Games, which are being co-hosted by Macao and make use of various venues at the city’s casino-resorts. They also noted the value of niche events that could be staged at the likes of Studio City’s new rooftop skate park.
The government requires Macao’s six casino operators to invest heavily in non-gambling activities – a category that incorporates the sportainment sector.
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The panel was followed by a session entitled The Globalisation Trend of Sportainment, which centred around the art of balancing sport and entertainment to ensure the latter doesn’t overshadow the main event.
Kevin Chang, UFC senior vice president and head of Asia-Pacific, noted that the sport itself had to “deliver first and be the reason people fly in to get that authentic experience.” Then, he added, there’s a “time and place for entertainment to creep in.”
Chang said that when top-tier athletic talent wasn’t available, events may need to lean more heavily on entertainment. He also highlighted the use of technology – such as live stats and rapid video clip editing – to elevate the fan experience.
Susanna Thng, head of sports content at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park, pointed to the recent Hong Kong Sevens as a successful example of entertainment complementing a sporting experience. The Sevens saw back-to-back rugby games satisfy the core audience, who then enjoyed performances by the likes of the English rock band Kaiser Chiefs and DJ Pete Tong.
