Common Factors in Major League Baseball Game Attendance

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young H. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Data Model ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Common Factors ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Capita Gross Domestic Product ◽  
Major League ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Game Attendance ◽  
Modern Era

This article applies a panel data model with observed common factors to Major League Baseball (MLB) data from 1904 to 2012 to analyze attendance. In particular, it aims to identify common factors. The empirical results suggest that MLB fan preferences were simple in the early years (1904-1957) with respect to common factors and then became multifaceted in later years (1958-2012), because the number of significant common factors increased from four to seven. Time trends and per capita gross domestic product were significant over the whole sample period, but outcome uncertainties and offensive performance, such as slugging performance, became newly significant common factors influencing attendance in later years. This indicates that fans consider not only their home team’s characteristics but also the characteristics of the away teams; then, in the modern era, it became critical for the league to implement elaborate business measures to promote competitive balance and slugging performance.

Competitive Balance and Game Attendance in Major League Baseball

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 563-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Meehan ◽  
Randy A. Nelson ◽  
Thomas V. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Major League ◽  
Game Attendance

Competitive Balance in Major League Baseball

1995 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Butler
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Free Agency ◽  
Major League ◽  
Competing Hypotheses

The purpose of this paper is to test several competing hypotheses of the causes of improving competitive balance in major league baseball. Various researchers have previously attributed this improvement in competitive balance to the introduction of free agency, a narrowing of team market sizes, and a compression of baseball talent. Two models of competitive balance are presented and estimated in this paper, with results varying depending on the measure of competitive balance employed. If the degree of competitive balance is measured by the distribution of team winning percentages within a single season, none of the competing hypotheses is supported. If competitive balance is measured by the correlation of team winning percentages across seasons, however, all three of the competing hypotheses are supported.

scholarly journals The Effect Of Promotions On Attendance At Major League Baseball Games

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony G. Barilla ◽  
Kathleen Gruben ◽  
William Levernier
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Multivariate Regression ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Multivariate Regression Model ◽  
Major League ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Game Attendance

The determinants of attendance at professional sporting events come from a variety of team- specific, game-specific, and stadium-specific factors. Using data from the 2,431 major league baseball games played during the 2005 season, this study employs a multivariate regression model to determine the effect that the previously mentioned factors have on game attendance. The focus of the study is on the effect that promotions, such as product giveaways, have on attendance. The findings of this study indicate that having a promotion at a game increases attendance by about 1,532 fans. The findings also indicate that both the timing of a promotion and the type of promotion is important. Specifically, promotions held on weekends have a much smaller impact on attendance than promotions held during the week, with promotions held on Friday or Sunday having a particularly small effect. In terms of the type of promotion, this study finds that bobblehead giveaways have by far the largest impact on attendance and that several types of giveaways actually have no effect on attendance.

scholarly journals Does Bat Day Make Cents? The Effect of Promotions on the Demand for Major League Baseball

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark McDonald ◽  
Daniel Rascher
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Professional Sport ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Marginal Impact ◽  
Major League ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Game Attendance

A primary objective of sport marketers in the professional sport setting is to develop strategies to increase game attendance. Historically, one of the strategies to accomplish this goal has been the utilization of special promotions. This paper studied the impact of promotions on attendance at professional sport games. Specifically, this research examines (a) the overall effect of promotions on attendance, and (b) the marginal impact on attendance of additional promotional days. Using a data set containing 1,500 observations, we find that a promotion increases single game attendance by about 14%. Additionally, increasing the number of promotions has a negative effect on the marginal impact of each promotion. The loss from this watering down effect, however, is outweighed by the gain from having an extra promotion day.

Prospective measures of competitive balance: application to money lines in major league baseball

2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (29) ◽  
pp. 4071-4081 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Alan Bowman ◽  
Thomas Ashman ◽  
James Lambrinos
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Major League

A Proposal for Incentive-Compatible Revenue Sharing in Major League Baseball

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 479-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael G. Wenz
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Current System ◽  
Profit Maximization ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
Revenue Sharing ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Payroll Tax ◽  
Marginal Value ◽  
Major League

This paper proposes a payroll tax and revenue sharing model for Major League Baseball that better aligns the incentives of individual team owners with league-wide goals of competitive balance and cartel profit maximization. The author demonstrates why the current system is poorly suited for improving competitive balance, then argue for a system of transfer payments based on a more aggressive payroll tax combined with a subsidy distributed based on on-field performance rather than market size or financial performance. High-payroll teams would contribute disproportionately to the revenue-sharing pool, while successful teams would receive disproportionately large subsidies. By increasing the marginal value of a win through the performance-based subsidies, small-market teams will see increased incentives to invest in playing talent. The author presents some limited financial data and suggest how to calibrate the model to yield the optimal level of competitive balance and optimal revenue split between players and owners.

Individual Team Incentives and Managing Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues: An Empirical Analysis of Major League Baseball

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Programming Model ◽  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Revenue Sharing ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Competitive Balance ◽  
Structural Dynamic ◽  
Local Revenue ◽  
Major League ◽  
Sports Leagues ◽  
The Impact

Major League Baseball and other professional sports leagues have long been concerned with competitive imbalances caused by differences in local revenues. The fear is that in the absence of salary caps or other regulatory mechanisms, smaller-market teams will be unable to remain competitive. This research uses a structural dynamic programming model to analyze ownership's payroll investment decisions. This model estimates the relationship between optimal payrolls and local-market populations and the influence of long-term customer equity dynamics on payroll investments. In addition, the author analyzes the impact of a recent policy intervention that implemented revenue transfers from high-local-revenue markets to low-local-revenue markets. The statistical results indicate that market population has a significant impact on the value of a team's payroll investments. For example, optimal payrolls double as the population increases from 2.5 million to 7.5 million. Furthermore, rather than improving competitive balance, the adoption of revenue sharing has decreased the incentives for small-market teams to remain competitive. The author uses the estimation results to evaluate alternative approaches to managing competitive balance. Specifically, the results suggest that basing revenue-sharing payments on local-market population and (higher) attendance rates reduces payroll dispersion.

Major League Baseball Attendance and the Role of Fantasy Baseball

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 494-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd M. Nesbit ◽  
Kerry A. King-Adzima
Keyword(s):  
Major League Baseball ◽  
Major League ◽  
Fantasy Baseball ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Game Attendance

Many explanations exist for the resurgence of the Major League Baseball (MLB) fan base following the 1994-1995 strike. The most prevalent explanations include the 1998 McGuire-Sosa homerun race and Cal Ripken Jr.’s consecutive games record. While such explanations certainly impacted fan interest in the sport, it is remiss to ignore the impact of online fantasy baseball leagues, which surfaced in 1997. This article examines the extent to which participating in a fantasy baseball league influences the MLB game attendance. The results strongly suggest that fantasy baseball participation positively influences MLB game attendance.

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