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.
Baade, R., & Tiehen, L. (1990, Spring). An analysis of Major League Baseball attendance, 1969-1987. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 14, 14-32.
2.
Borland, J., & Lye, J. (1992, September). Attendance at Australian Rules Football: A panel study. Applied Economics, 24(9), 1053-1058.
3.
Brown, E., Spiro, R., & Keenan, D. (1991). Wage and nonwage discrimination in professional basketball: Do fans affect it? Journal of Economics and Sociology, 50(3), 333-345.
4.
Bruggink, T., & Eaton, J. (1996). Rebuilding attendance in Major League Baseball: The demand for individual games. In J. Fizel, E. Gustafson, & L. Hadley (Eds.), Baseball economics: Current research (pp. 9-31). Westport, CT: Praeger.
5.
Burdekin, R., & Idson, T. (1991, January). Customer preferences, attendance and the racial structure of professional basketball teams. Applied Economics, 23, 179-186.
6.
Butler, M. (2002). Interleague play and baseball attendance. Journal of Sports Economics, 3(4), 320-334.
7.
Caray, H. (n.d.). Baseball almanac, baseball quotations. Available at www.baseball-almanac.com/quomenu.shtml
8.
Czarnitzki, D., & Stadtmann, G. (2002). The uncertainty of outcome versus reputation: Empirical evidence for the first German Football Division. Empirical Economics, 27(1), 101-112.
9.
Friedman, M. (1995). Spring training. In J. Thorn& P. Palmer (Eds.)with M. Gerschman, Total base ball: The official encyclopedia of Major League Baseball (4th ed., pp. 573-576). New York: Viking.
10.
Garcia, J., & Rodriguez, P. (2002). The determinants of football match attendance revisited: Empirical evidence from the Spanish Football League. Journal of Sports Economics, 3(1), 18-38.
11.
Halvorsen, R., & Palmquist, R. (1980). The interpretation of dummy variables in semilogarithmic equations. American Economic Review, 70(3), 474-475.
12.
Hill, J., Madura, J., & Zuber, R. (1982, Summer). The short-run demand for Major League Baseball. Atlantic Economic Journal, 2, 31-35.
13.
Jones, J., Stewart, K., & Sunderman, R. (1996). From the arena into the streets: Hockey violence, economic incentives and public policy. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 55(2), 231-243.
14.
Kahane, L., & Shmanske, S. (1997). Team roster turnover and attendance in Major League Baseball. Applied Economics, 29, 425-431.
15.
Knowles, G., Sherony, K., & Haupert, M. (1992). The demand for Major League Baseball: A test of the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis. American Economist, 36(2), 72-80.
16.
Marcum, J., & Greenstein, T. (1985). Factors affecting attendance in Major League Baseball II: A within season analysis. Sociology of Sport Journal, 2, 72-80.
17.
Medoff, M. (1986, Spring/Summer). Baseball attendance and fan discrimination. Journal of Behavioral Economics, 15, 149-155.
18.
Noll, R. (1974). Attendance and price setting. In R. Noll (Ed.), Government and the sports business (pp. 115-157). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
19.
Paul, R. (2003). Variations in NHL attendance: The impact of violence, scoring, and regional rivalries. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 62(2), 345-364.
20.
Peel, D., & Thomas, D. (1992). The demand for foot ball: Some evidence on outcome uncertainty. Empirical Economics, 17, 323-331.
21.
Price, D., & Sen, K. (2003). The demand for game day attendance in college football: An analysis of the 1997 Division 1-A season. Managerial and Decision Economics, 24, 35-46.
22.
Schmidt, M., & Berri, D. (2002). The impact of the 1981 and 1994-95 strikes on Major League Baseball attendance: A time-series analysis. Applied Economics, 34, 471-478.
23.
Siegfried, J., & Eisenberg, J. (1980). The demand for minor league baseball. Atlantic Economic Journal, 8(2), 59-69.
24.
Siegfried, J., & Hinshaw, C. (1979). The effect of lifting television blackouts on professional football no-shows. Journal of Economics and Business, 32(1), 1-13.
25.
Veeck, B. (1976). ESPN.com quotes by Bill Veek. Available at http://espn.go.com/classic/s/veeckquotes000816.html
26.
Welki, A., & Zlatoper, T. (1994). U.S. professional football: The demand for game-day attendance in 1991. Managerial and Decision Economics, 15, 489-495.
27.
Welki, A., & Zlatoper, T. (1999). U.S. professional football game-day attendance. Atlantic Economic Journal, 27(3), 285-298.
28.
Whitney, J. D. (1988). Winning games versus winning championships: The economics of fan interest and team performance. Economic Inquiry, 26(4), 703-724.
29.
Wilson, P., & Sim, B. (1995). The demand for semi-pro league football in Malaysia 1989-91: A panel data approach. Applied Economics, 27(1), 131-138.
30.
Wooldridge, J. M. (2002). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002.
31.
Wooldridge, J. M. (2003). Introductory econometrics (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.
32.
Zipp, J. (1997). Spring training. In R. Noll & A. Zimbalist (Eds.), Sports, jobs, and taxes: The economic impact of sports teams and stadiums (pp. 427-451). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
