Contents for IJSF Issue 2:3
| Executive Interview, pp. 123-129 Authors: Ross Booth |
| Abstract:An interview with Andrew Demetriou, CEO of the Australian Football League. |
| Do Fans Want Close Contests? A Test of the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis in the National Basketball Association, pp. 130-141 Authors: Daniel A. Rascher and John Paul G. Solmes |
| Abstract:The National Basketball Association claims to sell entertainment. Part of that entertainment is close, competitive contests with uncertain outcomes. However, hometown fans want the home team to win. Hence, the optimal probability that the home team wins a game, from the perspective of maximizing demand, lays somewhere between 0.5 and 1.0. Using data from individual games for the 2001-02 season, this optimal probability was estimated to be approximately 0.66. Fans want their home team to have about twice the chance to win a game as the visiting team. |
| Does a Win Bonus Help to Increase Profits or Wins on Professional Sports Teams?, pp. 142-148 Authors: Stefan Kesenne |
| Abstract:In a sports league, team owners can expect to increase player performance, and the team’s winning percentage or profits, by providing a win bonus on top of the players’ fixed salary level. In some clubs, the guaranteed player salary is relatively low and the premium, in case of a winning game, relatively high, whereas in other clubs, hardly any win bonus is paid. In this theoretical paper, we investigate what the impact of a win bonus is on the winning percentage, the competitive balance, the owner profits, and the overall quality in a professional sports league. The model we start from is an extension of the well-known Quirk and Fort (1992) two-team model and we introduce a premium system consisting of a win bonus that is paid on top of a fixed salary. Assuming that players are motivated to increase effort if their salary depends on the winning percentage, we derive the Nash-Cournot equilibrium under both the profit and a win maximization hypothesis. The impact of a premium system turns out to be rather complex, given the fact that clubs react to the strategies of other clubs in the league. The team that introduces a premium system can expect to increase its profits or its winning percentage by paying a bonus combined with a reduced fixed salary. A crucial factor, though, is the players’ response to the win bonus. If the team’s effort is not enhanced enough by the bonus, the team’s profits and wining percentage can go down. Also the effect that an increased winning percentage has on the current season revenue is an important factor. |
| Moving Beyond Economic Impact: A Closer Look at the Contingent Valuation Method, pp. 149-160 Authors: Matthew Walker and Michael J. Mondello |
| Abstract:The issue related to public investment in sport facilities has generated lively debate between economists, researchers, and policy makers. Empirical evidence detailing benefits derived from such initiatives has become mired in the discussion of whether sports stadiums do serve as economic catalysts. Research has demonstrated that new stadiums and arenas have no significant fiduciary impact on local economies, including employment. However, a possibility not fully explored is the idea that stadiums and teams generate both tangible and intangible benefits that can support the justification for some level of public investment. Consequently, the contingent valuation method (CVM) has been employed by sport researchers for the purpose of measuring benefits accrued from such investments. However, the CVM is the most controversial of the non-market valuation methods and subject to a number of methodological criticisms. This article will explore the CVM beyond the scope of traditional economic impact studies and highlight its use and relevance in the sport management discourse. |
| Ticket Prices, Concessions and Attendance at Professional Sporting Events, pp. 161-170 Authors: Dennis Coates and Brad R. Humphreys |
| Abstract:This paper explores the demand for attendance at professional sporting events using a data set that includes ticket prices and a price index reflecting prices for ancillary goods associated with attendance. Previous research has focused on attendance at Major League Baseball games, but this study also includes attendance at NBA and NFL contests. The analysis largely confirms existing findings that attendance demand is price inelastic, a result that is often thought to be at odds with the monopoly status of professional sports franchises. The analysis shows that ticket pricing in the inelastic portion of the demand curve is consistent with revenue maximization by monopoly teams that also set prices for related goods and services like concessions and parking closer to the elastic portion of the demand curve. |
| Book Review: The Economics of Association Football, pp. 171-172 Authors: Nicholas M. Watanabe |
| Abstract:A review of The Economics of Association Football, edited by Bill Gerrard. |
