Australian sport’s next big challenge: turning opportunity into investment

Australian sport is entering one of the most significant periods of opportunity in its history – but how does the industry turn that opportunity into sustainable investment and long-term growth?

That question will be at the centre of the Sports Investment Summit 2026, returning to Deloitte’s Sydney office on Tuesday 24 November, bringing together leaders from sport, investment, business and government to explore the future of investment in Australian sport.

With Brisbane 2032 approaching, major investment flowing into sporting infrastructure and high performance, growing interest from private capital, rapid growth in women’s sport, and technology reshaping the commercial potential of sporting organisations, the investment landscape around sport is changing quickly.

The challenge and opportunity is ensuring Australian sport is ready to capitalise on it.

This year’s Summit theme, The Investment Blueprint for Australian Sport, will move beyond simply discussing the need for more funding to explore the practical question of how sport becomes more investable.

Across 10 interconnected chapters, the Summit will examine how sports can become more investable, access private capital, new investment models, government investment, explore commercial partnerships, appreciate human capital, and maximise community sporting events and technology. The summit will bring together perspectives from those seeking investment and those making investment decisions.

The speaker line-up includes Matthew Denholm, Director TreeArc Group & Hoops Capital Executive Director, opening the Summit with an investor’s perspective on why capital is increasingly looking at sport and what makes a sporting opportunity genuinely investable.

TreeArc has become a significant investor in Australian basketball, including majority ownership of Hoops Capital, home of the Sydney Kings and Sydney Flames and the WNBL. Its investment provides a timely Australian case study of private capital being used not simply to acquire sporting assets, but to grow their long-term commercial and sporting value.

The Summit will also bring an international perspective to Sydney.

Stephanie Rudnick, Head of Public Relations at Angel City FC, will share insights from one of the most closely watched new models in global women’s sport, exploring how commercial partnerships can create both business and community value.

And John Tweardy, Global Practice Leader for Deloitte Sports, will bring a global perspective on technology investment and return. Tweardy leads Deloitte’s global sports practice and its work supporting the International Olympic Committee and Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Australian sporting leaders including Rob Woodhouse, CEO of Swimming Australia; Ben Sellenger, Chief Commercial Officer of Golf Australia; Mark Falvo, CEO of Netball Australia; Jane Fernandez, CEO of Netball World Cup Sydney 2027; and Jerril Rechter AM, CEO of the Australian Sports Foundation will join investment, business and government leaders to examine the issue from across the sporting ecosystem.

The program will ask some of the questions increasingly confronting Australian sport:

What makes a sporting organisation, event or facility genuinely investable? Where will the next generation of capital come from? How can sport create new investment models? What are commercial partners now looking for? How can sport build stronger investment partnerships with government? And how can investment in people, technology and events generate measurable long-term returns?

Martin Sheppard, CEO NSC Events said the Summit was designed to create a conversation that extends beyond traditional approaches to sports funding.

“Sport has enormous value, but simply saying that sport needs more investment isn’t enough.

“We want to bring together the people running sport with the people investing in it, partnering with it and making decisions about where capital is deployed.

“The opportunity is to understand what makes sport genuinely investable and what our sporting organisations can do differently to unlock new sources of investment.

“With Brisbane 2032 on the horizon and unprecedented attention on Australian sport, this is an important time to have that conversation.”

The Summit forms the next chapter in NSC Events’ broader mission to help create $1 billion in new investment for Australian sport.

Importantly, the conversation will not finish when the Summit does.

Insights from speakers and discussions throughout the day will contribute to the inaugural Australian Sport Investment Blueprint – a practical post-event resource capturing principles and ideas that can help sporting organisations become more investable, commercially capable and financially sustainable.

The Sports Investment Summit has sold out in each of its first two years and will again be limited to 150 industry leaders, creating an environment designed for discussion, connection and collaboration rather than simply conference presentations.

For Australian sport, the question is no longer simply where will the money come from? It is also, What does sport need to become to attract it?

The Sports Investment Summit invites leaders from across the industry to be part of that conversation.

Sports Investment Summit 2026
Tuesday 24 November 2026
Deloitte, Quay Quarter Tower, Sydney