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Determinants of Minor League Baseball Attendance

Author

Listed:
  • Seth R. Gitter

    (Department of Economics, Towson University, MD, USA)

  • Thomas A. Rhoads

    (Department of Economics, Towson University, MD, USA, trhoads@towson.edu)

Abstract

Like Major League Baseball (MLB), minor league baseball attendance may be influenced by the quality of the team. We use a data set encompassing all A, AA, and AAA minor league teams from 1992 to 2006 and find a positive relationship between a minor league team’s winning percentage and attendance. We also find evidence that minor and MLB are substitutes as increased ticket prices for the nearest MLB team lead to higher minor league attendance if that team is within 100 miles. Similarly, we find that during the MLB strike, minor league attendance increased. Finally, we find that a local or regional MLB team’s winning percentage only has a positive impact on minor league attendance when they are affiliated clubs.

Suggested Citation

  • Seth R. Gitter & Thomas A. Rhoads, 2010. "Determinants of Minor League Baseball Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(6), pages 614-628, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:11:y:2010:i:6:p:614-628
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002509359758
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Simon Rottenberg, 1956. "The Baseball Players' Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(3), pages 242-242.
    2. AC. Krautmann & E. Gustafson & L. Hadley, 2000. "Who pays for minor league training costs?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 18(1), pages 37-47, January.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Mark Foley & Fred Smith, 2013. "The Rise (and Fall) of the Arena Football League," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 41(4), pages 439-450, December.
    2. Agha, Nola & Rascher, Daniel, 2013. "When can economic impact be positive? Nine conditions that explain why smaller sports can have bigger impacts," MPRA Paper 48016, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Richard Cebula, 2013. "A panel data analysis of the impacts of regional economic factors, marketing and promotions, and team performance on minor league baseball attendance," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 51(3), pages 695-710, December.
    4. Nola Agha & Thomas Rhoads, 2016. "The League Standing Effect: The Case of a Split Season in Minor League Baseball," Working Papers 2016-13, Towson University, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2016.
    5. Brian M. Mills & Mark S. Rosentraub, 2014. "The National Hockey League and Cross-Border Fandom," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 15(5), pages 497-518, October.
    6. Nola Agha, 2013. "The Economic Impact of Stadiums and Teams," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 14(3), pages 227-252, June.
    7. Chmait, Nader & Robertson, Sam & Westerbeek, Hans & Eime, Rochelle & Sellitto, Carmine & Reid, Machar, 2020. "Tennis superstars: The relationship between star status and demand for tickets," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 330-347.
    8. Tim Wallrafen & Tim Pawlowski & Christian Deutscher, 2019. "Substitution in Sports: The Case of Lower Division Football Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(3), pages 319-343, April.
    9. Brian Mills & Rodney Fort, 2014. "League-Level Attendance And Outcome Uncertainty In U.S. Pro Sports Leagues," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(1), pages 205-218, January.
    10. Vincent Hogan & Patrick Massey & Shane Massey, 2013. "Competitive Balance and Match Attendance in European Rugby Union Leagues," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 44(4), pages 425-446.
    11. Qi Ge & Brad R. Humphreys & Alexander Eisert, 2022. "Vertical Integration and Competitive Balance in Professional Sports: Evidence from Minor League Baseball," Working Papers 22-07, Department of Economics, West Virginia University.
    12. Rodney J. Paul & Andrew P. Weinbach, 2011. "Minor League Baseball Attendance in the Pacific Northwest: A Study of the Effects of Winning, Scoring, Demographics and Promotions in the Northwest and Pioneer Baseball Leagues," Ekonomika a Management, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2011(2).
    13. Tim Wallrafen & Georgios Nalbantis & Tim Pawlowski, 2022. "Competition and Fan Substitution Between Professional Sports Leagues," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 61(1), pages 21-43, August.
    14. Rodney J. Paul & Charles Garrett & Cody Barbuto & Kyle Liotta, 2019. "Celebrity attraction in the minors: the case of Tim Tebow," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(4), pages 795-812, October.
    15. Tyler Anthony & Tim Kahn & Briana Madison & Rodney Paul & Andrew Weinbach, 2014. "Similarities in fan preferences for minor-league baseball across the American Southeast," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 38(1), pages 150-163, January.
    16. Seth R. Gitter & Thomas A. Rhoads, 2014. "Stadium Construction And Minor League Baseball Attendance," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(1), pages 144-154, January.
    17. Seth R. Gitter & Thomas A. Rhoads, 2011. "Top Prospects and Minor League Baseball Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 12(3), pages 341-351, June.
    18. Wayne DeSarbo & Heungsun Hwang & Ashley Stadler Blank & Eelco Kappe, 2015. "Constrained Stochastic Extended Redundancy Analysis," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 80(2), pages 516-534, June.
    19. Brian M. Mills & Jason A. Winfree & Mark S. Rosentraub & Ekaterina Sorokina, 2015. "Fan substitution between North American professional sports leagues," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(7), pages 563-566, May.

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