Understanding Women's Professional Basketball Game Spectators: Sociodemographics,Game Consumption,and Entertainment Options

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the hierarchical relationships among sociodemographics, lifestyle, and level of game consumption of women's professional basketball spectators. Spectators ( N = 2,048) from five regular season home games of a major WNBA team responded to a questionnaire designed to measure sociodemo-graphics (10 items), level of spectator consumption (6 items), and lifestyle (19 items). Conducting factor analyses with principal axis extraction and oblimin rotation, one factor emerged for the level of spectator participation variables (Game Consumption) and four factors emerged for the lifestyle variables (Professional Sports, Amusement Activities, Amateur Sports, and Recreational Sports). Regression analyses and analyses of variance revealed that nearly all sociodemo-graphic variables and two lifestyle factors (Professional Sports and Amateur Sports) were related to Game Consumption; however, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the lifestyle factors did not mediate the relationships between sociodemographics and Game Consumption. The findings demonstrate the importance of promoting women's professional basketball games through sociodemographics, and during professional and amateur sporting events.

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