A study on the spatiotemporal evolutionary pattern and influencing factors of sports venues in Xi’an

Based on multi-source data, the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics, evolution trends, and driving factors of sports venues in Xi'an City were systematically explored in this work. Utilizing the Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) method, the distribution density of sports venues in 2010, 2015, and 2020 was scientifically calculated. Furthermore, the Multi-Scale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) model was employed to analyse the factors influencing regional sports venues. Our analysis demonstrated that the number of sports venues in Xi'an has progressively increased, exhibiting a trend of gradually diffusing outwards from the centers of Xincheng District, Beilin District, and Lianhu District. Their spatial distribution is affected to varying degrees by commerce, industry, population, transportation, ecology, topography, and landforms, with the impact of commerce, industry, and population beginning to diminish. The transportation and environmental quality are gradually becoming core factors, and the influence of slope on sports venues shows spatial consistency. Moreover, the study also probes into the complexity of various influencing factors and provides a reference for the rational layout of sports venues in other cities. The importance of constructing and arranging sports venues judiciously in positively correlated areas is underscored to optimize their role in urban development.