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The Demand for League of Ireland Football

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  • Barry Reilly

    (University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom)

Abstract

This paper provides some empirical insights on the determinants of spectator demand for League of Ireland football. Using data from three recent playing seasons, the estimated spectator demand relationship revealed important roles for recent team performance, fixture quality, seasonal and match outcome uncertainty, and a selection of opportunity (and other) cost measures. The estimates confirm the importance of fixture quality for spectator attendance and also reveal evidence of a short-run competitive imbalance within the domestic game. The analysis suggests that modest enhancements to attendance may be achieved through increasing fixture quality and reducing such imbalance. These enhancements are more likely to be secured through reducing rather than increasing the current number of teams in the league’s top tier.

Suggested Citation

  • Barry Reilly, 2015. "The Demand for League of Ireland Football," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 46(4), pages 485-509.
    • Handle: RePEc:eso:journl:v:46:y:2015:i:4:p:485-509
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Dominik Schreyer, 2019. "Football spectator no-show behaviour in the German Bundesliga," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(45), pages 4882-4901, September.
    2. Thadeu Gasparetto & Angel Barajas, 2020. "Management in a complex scenario: World Cup, alternative stadiums and demand for tickets," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(6), pages 1071-1083, September.
    3. Selçuk Özaydın, 2018. "Modelling the European Football Demand for the 2014/2015 Season," Yildiz Social Science Review, Yildiz Technical University, vol. 4(1), pages 39-52.
    4. Dominik Schreyer & Sascha L. Schmidt & Benno Torgler, 2018. "Game Outcome Uncertainty in the English Premier League," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 19(5), pages 625-644, June.
    5. John Considine & Liam Gallagher, 2018. "Competitive balance in a quasi-double knockout tournament," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(18), pages 2048-2055, April.
    6. Schreyer, Dominik & Schmidt, Sascha L. & Torgler, Benno, 2016. "Against all odds? Exploring the role of game outcome uncertainty in season ticket holders’ stadium attendance demand," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 192-217.
    7. Barry Reilly & Robert Witt, 2021. "The Effect of League Design on Spectator Attendance: A Regression Discontinuity Design Approach," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(5), pages 514-545, June.
    8. Farai Jena & Barry Reilly, 2022. "Are spectator preferences weaker for cup compared to league competitions? Evidence from Irish soccer," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(9), pages 835-841, May.
    9. Dominik Schreyer & Sascha L. Schmidt & Benno Torgler, 2019. "Football Spectator No-Show Behavior," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(4), pages 580-602, May.
    10. Farai Jena & Barry Reilly, 2016. "Testing the uncertainty outcome hypothesis using data from second tier soccer in Ireland," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(18), pages 1257-1260, December.

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