Arenas Vs. Multifunctional Stadia – Which Do Spectators Prefer?

Hamburg Contemporary Economic Discussions, No. 14, 2007

21 Pages Posted: 13 Dec 2009

See all articles by Arne Feddersen

Arne Feddersen

Hamburg University of Economics and Politics

Wolfgang Maennig

Universität Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Date Written: September 2007

Abstract

Large sports stadia construction follows two different general concepts: (1) Mono-functional arenas which are specially suited for one sport exclusively and which are characterised by the absence of an athletic track. (2) Multifunctional sports stadia which can be used for different sporting or cultural events. Officials of clubs often argue that the atmosphere in an arena is significantly better than that of a multipurpose facility and that spectators prefer such an atmosphere. Estimated panel regressions with fixed effects show a significant positive effect of a mono-functional soccer stadium on spectator demand. Controlling for other demand determinants in the German professional soccer league, Bundesliga, an isolated effect of around 4,800 additional spectators a game can be found. This translates into a substantial increase of about 18.7% against the mean value of 25,602 spectators per Bundesliga game.

Keywords: Demand for sport, soccer, mono-functional arenas, multifunctional stadia

JEL Classification: L83, C23, C24

Suggested Citation

Feddersen, Arne and Maennig, Wolfgang, Arenas Vs. Multifunctional Stadia – Which Do Spectators Prefer? (September 2007). Hamburg Contemporary Economic Discussions, No. 14, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1520543 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1520543

Arne Feddersen

Hamburg University of Economics and Politics ( email )

Von-Melle-Park 9
Hamburg, 20149
Germany

Wolfgang Maennig (Contact Author)

Universität Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences ( email )

Von-Melle-Park 5
Hamburg, 20146
Germany