SPAIN: Evolution and Characteristics of the Private Sport Sector – Focus on Fitness Centres and Gyms

This chapter contains a description of the evolution and main characteristics of the private sport sector in Spain. The first section outlines a panoramic vision of the structure and organizational framework of the Spanish sport sector, illustrating the established supremacy of the public sector above the voluntary and private sectors. Next, an analysis is laid out, utilising data from Section 931 of the Central Business Register of the National Institute of Statistics. This analysis includes information pertaining to the number of existing organisations, legal structures, number of employees, and territorial layouts. Once the general description of Spain’s private sport sector is covered, the chapter focuses on the analysis of the emerging and developmental processes of the fitness centres and gyms in Spain. Combining various statistical sources and market studies, particularly from the DBK reports on the fitness sector in Spain, this paper gives an in-depth picture of the main characteristics and evolution of these types of centres located throughout Spain. The results encompass the number of centres, market values, and the number of workers; they also include pricing strategies, corporate merging strategies, and the leading companies in the industry.