NBL Opening Game: 90% Attendance Boosts Event Economy

On December 20, the opening game of the 2025-2026 NBL season started in Zunyi, Guizhou. Guizhou Raptors, the new league team, faced last season’s champion Hong Kong Golden Bulls at home.

“China Business News” reporter learned that about 6,000 fans attended the game, and the attendance rate for the opening game was 89.3%. As the only men’s five-a-side professional basketball club in Guizhou Province, the establishment of the Guizhou Raptors is recognized by the industry as a professional achievement born from the fervent folk soil of “Village BA”, and it is also a key bridge for Guizhou’s basketball industry to move from a “grassroots phenomenon” to a “systematic development.”

In the summer of 2022, a basketball tournament broke out in Taipan Village, Taijiang County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. This basketball game became popular all over the Internet through a short video, and netizens called it “Village BA” with reference to “NBA” and “CBA”. Since its development, the “Village BA” has been upgraded to a national competition.

The reporter noticed that during the opening performance, dancers from Taijiang County, Guizhou Province, the birthplace of “Village BA”, demonstrated the national intangible cultural heritage “Anti-Pulling Wood Encouragement”.

Guizhou Zunyi’s traditional acrobatic “Drumming” debuted in the NBL arena. Photo provided by interviewee

At the same time, a localagricultural productsmarket. This move aims to expand offline exhibition and sales channels for local agricultural products, convert spectators into consumers, and build a local economic closed loop of “event traffic + consumption conversion”.

In fact, the integration of sports and tourism is particularly obvious in the NBL league in the new season. Among the 14 teams in the new season, 3 clubs have deep participation from the local cultural and tourism departments.

Among them, the Hubei team behind the Hubei Cultural Tourism Men’s Basketball TeamSports industryThe Group Basketball Club was established by Hubei Cultural Tourism Group; the Henan Jiaozuo Cultural Tourism Basketball Club behind the Jiaozuo Cultural Tourism Men’s Basketball Club was jointly established by the Henan Provincial Ball Sports Center and Jiaozuo Cultural Tourism Industry Investment Group; the Zhangjiakou Sports Cultural Tourism Basketball Club behind the Zhangjiakou Sports Cultural Tourism Men’s Basketball Club was established with the support of the Hebei Provincial Sports Bureau, Zhangjiakou Sports Bureau and the Sports, Cultural Tourism Industry Development Group.

In addition, many NBL basketball clubs have linked their games to local cultural and tourism resources, trying to drive local economic development through the integration of sports and tourism.

The Guizhou Raptors men’s basketball team told reporters that before the start of the new season, the club visited several villages in Taijiang County for exchanges. This move aims to increase the continuous interaction between professional teams and private events, and promote the local “sports + cultural tourism +rural revitalization“Integrated development.

The Jiaozuo Cultural Tourism Men’s Basketball Team has launched more preferential policies. Fans who purchase tickets at any price can enjoy free first-line tickets to 12 A-level scenic spots in Jiaozuo City, and enjoy no less than 10% and 20% discounts at more than 40 dining establishments and hotels.

From the perspective of the league, the new season will continue the brand slogan “Infinite My City”, continue to build the “city” and “home court” culture, and continue to deepen the connection from sports events to the city community. In the future, more styles unique to the cities where the 14 clubs are located will be displayed in the NBL league.