Spatial pattern characteristics and influencing factors of state-level sports industry bases in China

The spatial distribution of sports industry bases in China holds significant practical importance for the high-quality development of China's sports industry. This study employs spatial data analysis (ESDA), the spatial Gini coefficient, the imbalance index, the standard deviation ellipse, and a panel negative binomial regression model to examine the spatial patterns and influencing factors of the distribution of State-level Sports Industry Bases. The findings are as follows: (1) The 334 State-level Sports Industry Bases in China are located primarily east of the "Hu Line." The distribution pattern of these bases across the 31 provinces has undergone continuous changes from 2016 to 2021. (2) The overall distribution of State-level Sports Industry Bases in China's seven major geographic regions is uneven. Northeast China has the most balanced distribution, while East China has the highest concentration. The standard ellipse of the distribution from 2016 to 2021 reveals a trend of "discrete-centered-discrete-centered-centered." (3) Economic growth and government financial investment in each province and region are significantly positively correlated with an increase in the number of State-level Sports Industry Bases. In contrast, higher levels of regional innovation inhibit the growth of these bases.