Populous is aiming to secure 10 major projects in China over the next five years as the nation seeks to improve its sporting infrastructure.

In June, the architect signed a deal with Chinese global trade platform Alibaba to consult on the transformation of several sports stadiums – mirroring the government’s ambition to make China a football superpower.

Alibaba’s sports arm, Alisports, has set its sights on operating 50,000 sports venues in China over the next 10 years, and Populous’ Asian and Australian director Andrew James told CLAD sister publication Sports Management that the studio wants a project in “each of the major cities”.

China’s president Xi Jinping is intent on seeing the country host – and win – the FIFA World Cup by 2030, and the government’s priorities are beginning to influence the thinking of private Chinese businesses, who also see the commercial opportunities of a healthy football scene.

Chinese Super League football clubs have spent millions on attracting world-renowned players and creating worldwide interest in its domestic games for the first time.

James said that the wealth was now filtering down to the upgrading of stadiums and training facilities as the commercial imperative become clear. Alisports sees the operation of stadiums and venues as a way to connect with its 470m subscribers.

He said: “There are so many ways they [the Chinese] can professionalise the sport, in terms of the venue, and commercialisation. Right now the money is being spent on recruiting the best players, but I expect the money to be spent on coaches, and then the clubs will start to think about their venues and training centres.”

According to James, China has as many as 100,000 sports venues, many of which are white elephants that need to be renovated if they are ever going to be functional again.

A number are built with huge capacities with multi-use aspects, such as athletics tracks around football pitches, but James suggested the Chinese needed to adapt their thinking to create the best possible fan experience.

“You have to offer a great experience, particularly if you’re a football club,” he said. “People will come week after week. Every seat has to be great. Above 60,000 seats you have infrastructure issues to deal with. If everyone can’t get a ticket then that raises demand and will be good for the bottom line.”

To read the full interview with Andrew James, click here.

Populous and China's Alisports ink ambitious sports infrastructure partnership

FEATURE: Interview – Andrew James

FEATURE: News Feature – Populous seals Chinese football infrastructure deal