IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jospec/v8y2007i1p39-61.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Analysis of Attendance at Major League Baseball Spring Training Games

Author

Listed:
  • Michael R. Donihue

    (Colby College)

  • David W. Findlay

    (Colby College)

  • Peter W. Newberry

    (Colby College)

Abstract

This article examines the determinants of game-day attendance during Major League Baseball’s 2002 spring training season in Florida. The model of game-day attendance includes location, quality of game, and time and weather variables. A censored Tobit estimation procedure is used to estimate the model. Results indicate that the quality of the game, average ticket price, and several location-specific factors affect attendance. Specifically, results suggest that changes in income have no effect on attendance while increases in ticket prices cause reductions in attendance. Furthermore, estimates of the price elasticity of demand for Major League Baseball during the spring training season are consistent with unitary elasticity. We also find that a number of factors unique to spring training, such as a nonresident fan base and split squads of players, significantly affect game-day attendance.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael R. Donihue & David W. Findlay & Peter W. Newberry, 2007. "An Analysis of Attendance at Major League Baseball Spring Training Games," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 8(1), pages 39-61, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:8:y:2007:i:1:p:39-61
    DOI: 10.1177/1527002505276716
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1527002505276716
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1527002505276716?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rodney J. Paul, 2003. "Variations in NHL Attendance: The Impact of Violence, Scoring, and Regional Rivalries," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 345-364, April.
    2. Michael R. Butler, 2002. "Interleague Play and Baseball Attendance," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 3(4), pages 320-334, November.
    3. Andrew Welki & Thomas Zlatoper, 1999. "U.S. professional football game-day attendance," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 27(3), pages 285-298, September.
    4. Whitney, James D, 1988. "Winning Games versus Winning Championships: The Economics of Fan Interest and Team Performance," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 26(4), pages 703-724, October.
    5. Jaume García & Plácido Rodríguez, 2002. "The Determinants of Football Match Attendance Revisited," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 3(1), pages 18-38, February.
    6. Leo Kahane & Stephen Shmanske, 1997. "Team roster turnover and attendance in major league baseball," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 425-431.
    7. Peel, David A & Thomas, Dennis A, 1992. "The Demand for Football: Some Evidence on Outcome Uncertainty," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 323-331.
    8. Georg Stadtmann & Dirk Czarnitzki, 2002. "Uncertainty of outcome versus reputation: Empirical evidence for the First German Football Division," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 101-112.
    9. Medoff, Marshall H., 1986. "Baseball attendance and fan discrimination," Journal of Behavioral Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1-2), pages 149-155.
    10. Halvorsen, Robert & Palmquist, Raymond, 1980. "The Interpretation of Dummy Variables in Semilogarithmic Equations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 474-475, June.
    11. Eleanor Brown & Richard Spiro & Diane Keenan, 1991. "Wage and Nonwage Discrimination in Professional Basketball: Do Fans Affect It?," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 333-345, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francisco González-Gómez & Andrés J. Picazo-Tadeo, 2010. "Can We Be Satisfied With Our Football Team? Evidence From Spanish Professional Football," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 11(4), pages 418-442, August.
    2. John C. Whitehead & Bruce K. Johnson & Daniel S. Mason & Gordon J. Walker, 2009. "Using Revealed and Stated Preference Data to Estimate the Demand and Consumption Benefits of Sporting Events: An Application to National Hockey League Game Trips," Working Papers 09-13, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
    3. Richard Pomfret & John K. Wilson, 2011. "The Peculiar Economics of Government Policy towards Sport," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 18(1), pages 85-100.
    4. Nancy Ammon Jianakoplos & Martin Shields, 2012. "Practice or Profits," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(4), pages 451-465, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jeffery Borland, 2003. "Demand for Sport," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 19(4), pages 478-502, Winter.
    2. Budzinski, Oliver & Feddersen, Arne, 2015. "Grundlagen der Sportnachfrage: Theorie und Empirie der Einflussfaktoren auf die Zuschauernachfrage," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 94, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    3. Arne Feddersen & Wolfgang Maennig, 2009. "Arenas Versus Multifunctional Stadiums," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 10(2), pages 180-191, April.
    4. Pedro Garcia-del-Barrio & J. James Reade, 2022. "Does certainty on the winner diminish the interest in sport competitions? The case of formula one," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 1059-1079, August.
    5. Brown, Katie M. & Salaga, Steven, 2018. "NCAA football television viewership: Product quality and consumer preference relative to market expectations," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 377-390.
    6. John C. Whitehead & Bruce K. Johnson & Daniel S. Mason & Gordon J. Walker, 2009. "Using Revealed and Stated Preference Data to Estimate the Demand and Consumption Benefits of Sporting Events: An Application to National Hockey League Game Trips," Working Papers 09-13, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
    7. 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.
    8. Kevin Alavy & Alison Gaskell & Stephanie Leach & Stefan Szymanski, 2010. "On the Edge of Your Seat: Demand for Football on Television and the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis," International Journal of Sport Finance, Fitness Information Technology, vol. 5(2), pages 75-95, May.
    9. David Forrest & Robert Simmons & Babatunde Buraimo, 2005. "Outcome Uncertainty And The Couch Potato Audience," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 52(4), pages 641-661, September.
    10. Nicholas King & P. Dorian Owen & Rick Audas, 2012. "Playoff Uncertainty, Match Uncertainty and Attendance at Australian National Rugby League Matches," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(281), pages 262-277, June.
    11. Alexander John Bond & Francesco Addesa, 2020. "Competitive Intensity, Fans’ Expectations, and Match-Day Tickets Sold in the Italian Football Serie A, 2012-2015," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 21(1), pages 20-43, January.
    12. Dominik Schreyer, 2019. "Football spectator no-show behaviour in the German Bundesliga," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(45), pages 4882-4901, September.
    13. Scott Tainsky & Chad D. McEvoy, 2012. "Television Broadcast Demand in Markets Without Local Teams," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(3), pages 250-265, June.
    14. Marco Di Domizio & Raul Caruso, 2015. "Hooliganism and Demand for Football in Italy: Attendance and Counterviolence Policy Evaluation," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 16(2), pages 123-137, May.
    15. Stefan Szymanski, 2010. "The Economic Design of Sporting Contests," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Comparative Economics of Sport, chapter 1, pages 1-78, Palgrave Macmillan.
    16. Scott Tainsky & Jie Xu & Brian M. Mills & Steven Salaga, 2016. "How Success and Uncertainty Compel Interest in Related Goods: Playoff Probability and Out-of-Market Television Viewership in the National Football League," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 48(1), pages 29-43, February.
    17. Raul Caruso & Francesco Addesa & Marco Di Domizio, 2019. "The Determinants of the TV Demand for Soccer: Empirical Evidence on Italian Serie A for the Period 2008-2015," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(1), pages 25-49, January.
    18. Jakee, Keith & Kenneally, Martin & Mitchell, Hamish, 2010. "Asymmetries in scheduling slots and game-day revenues: An example from the Australian Football League," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 50-64, February.
    19. Buraimo, Babatunde & Simmons, Rob, 2009. "A tale of two audiences: Spectators, television viewers and outcome uncertainty in Spanish football," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 326-338, July.
    20. Jean-Marc Falter & Christophe Pérignon & Olivier Vercruysse, 2008. "Impact of Overwhelming Joy on Consumer Demand," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(1), pages 20-42, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:jospec:v:8:y:2007:i:1:p:39-61. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.