Purpose Sports facilities can play a vital role in encouraging physical activity and sport. Also, just the distribution of sports facilities is very important for better access to these facilities. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate spatial justice in the distribution of built outdoor sports facilities in the city of Isfahan, Iran and provide insight for planning in terms of equitable accessibility. Design/methodology/approach All facilities located in the 15 areas of the city, whether private or public, built for the purpose of physical activity and sports programs were considered in this study (107 cases). To obtain information on the locations of the outdoor sports facilities, Isfahan Atlas data, which has been compiled by Isfahan Municipality was used. Arc geographic information systems environment and its different algorithms were also used to perform different calculations and prepare maps. Findings The results indicated the unfair distribution of built outdoor sports facilities in the city of Isfahan in terms of spatial justice based on the number of built outdoor sports facilities in each area, the population, land area, population density and the spatial pattern of the facilities. Practical implications In this regard, urban authorities and sport managers should make an effort to decrease or obviate inequity in access to outdoor sports facilities for the purpose of promoting participation in physical activity and sport and providing residents with numerous other benefits. Originality/value This paper has concluded that spatial justice in the distribution of built outdoor sports facilities for the improvement of access to these facilities is very important.