Sportainment: when the design of a sport event transcends resistance, engaging experts and novices alike

Sportainment has become a dominant approach in sport event design, yet it is often viewed with suspicion and criticised for promoting hyper-commercialisation, passive consumption and pre-packaged atmospheres. This study investigates the experiential value of sportainment at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, examining how intended design aligns with spectators’ lived experiences across different levels of expertise. In doing so, it puts into perspective the criticism made of the development of entertainment in consumer experiences, demonstrating how event design not only mitigates resistance but also enhances consumers’ experiential value. Drawing on phenomenological interviews, the findings show that sportainment enables memorable experiences for audiences with varying expertise on the basis of three guiding principles which are detailed in the article.