Accelerating the development of sport industry is vital to the economical development of Tianjin, Chief of the Municipality’s Sports Bureau stressed recently.

Confronted with economic crisis both home and abroad, developing the sports industry is of greater significance to implementing Central Government’s decision of expanding domestic demands, Han Zhenduo, chief of Tianjin Sports Bureau said on the sideline of the International Sport & Recreation Industry Development Forum in Tianjin this week.

Tianjin should embrace the chance of opening up and developing the Binhai New Area to speed up its sports industry development and make sports industry a pillar industry of Tianjin and even around the circum-Bohai Bay region at large, according to Han.

To meet this goal, Tianjin should make full use of Olympic facilities to develop its urban economy.

Tianjin Vice Major Zhang Junfang commented that the Tianjin Olympic Center and other modern sports facilities have laid a good groundwork for future development of sports industry.

“Organizing the 2012 National University Games and 2013 East Asian Games will undoubtedly provide precious opportunities for the development of sports industry in Tianjin,” Zhang contended.

Sports industry has become increasingly outstanding in national economy and has grown into a new fashion of mass consumption, Zhang added.

Yi Jiandong, dean of Sports Media Department of Beijing Sports University, tailored measures to suit local conditions of Tianjin, suggesting that Tianjin, boasting a good tradition in tennis, has a chance of hooking up with Australian Open if it could be empowered by Australia to set up an Australian teenager training base here..

The International Sport & Recreation Industry Development Forum was held in Tianjin Olympic Center. Tianjin Municipal Government, Tianjin Sports Bureau, Tianjin Olympic Center and Sportswindow Development Co. Ltd co-organized the event.

China Daily Tianjin Bureau