Claudius had a tremendous passion for playing games

Suetonius claims that Claudius had a tremendous passion for playing games. He is reported to have risen with the crowd during gladiatorial contests and lavished admiration of the competitors. Additionally, Claudius oversaw numerous novel and creative happenings. Soon after assuming power, Claudius established games to be held on his father's birthday in honor of him. At the Praetorian camp, where Claudius had first assumed the throne, annual games were also held in recognition of his accession.

On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the founding of Rome, Claudius staged a performance of the Secular Games. The identical sports had been conducted by Augustus less than a century earlier. Augustus' justification was that the gap for the games was 110 years, not 100, although his date did not qualify under either argument. Claudius also staged naval battles to commemorate the attempted emptying of Fucine Lake, as well as numerous other public games and performances.

Claudius also renovated and decorated numerous public spaces throughout Rome. The turning poles and starting stalls at the Circus Maximus were restored in marble and decorated, and an embankment was presumably added to prevent flooding of the track. Claudius also enforced or expanded the seating rules at the Circus, which reserved front-row seats for senators. He reconstructed Pompey's Theatre after it was devastated by fire, organizing spectacular fights during the re-dedication from a special platform in the orchestra box.