Background and Objective: Urban green spaces are recognized as a key component of sustainable development, and the digital economy has emerged over the past two decades as a major driver of structural transformation across industries. The sports industry is no exception to this transformation, and the central question of this study is whether the digital economy can act as a driver of the sports industry's transition toward greener patterns, and whether this effect depends on the level of data-market maturity in each province.

Methodology: This study uses panel data from Iran's 31 provinces over 1391-1404 (431 province-year observations) and panel econometric methods. Based on F-Limer and Hausman tests, a two-way fixed-effects model was selected as the baseline specification. To address the potential endogeneity of the digital economy, a two-stage least squares approach was employed using the average digital economy of other provinces as an instrument. Robustness was assessed via White and Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, winsorization, and exclusion of metropolitan provinces.

Results and Findings: The digital economy has a positive effect on green development of the sports industry that is significant under most specifications. Evidence for the moderating role of data marketization is weak and sensitive to model specification. Regional heterogeneity analysis shows the effect is strong in more developed regions (around Tehran, Isfahan, and Tabriz) and insignificant in the eastern region (around Mashhad). A supplementary analysis shows sanction intensity strengthens this effect. The findings offer concrete policy implications for prioritizing digital infrastructure investment in less-developed regions.