ATTITUDES, INTERESTS AND SPORT SPECTATOR PROFILING: VARIABLES
AFFECTING GAME ATTENDANCE IN A NHL FRANCHISE
This study examined the literature on spectator profiling and evaluated current
survey methodologies being used to profile hockey spectators and their preferences
regarding NHL hockey game attendance. The research had two inter-related objectives.
One was to investigate the consumer profiles of sport spectators associated with a
specific NHL franchise, the Vancouver Canucks, and to relate these to game attendance.
The second objective was to test and evaluate a questionnaire designed to incorporate
latest thinking on variables that affect professional sports game attendance. Survey data
were collected from 907 attendees at four Vancouver Canucks games and from 203
students at the University of British Columbia during the 2001-2002 NHL season. Two
separate studies were conducted using the data. Study 1 investigated reasons for game
attendance, and respondents' activity patterns and interests. Data analyses for study 1
included a confirmatory factor analysis for testing the validity of the game attendance
items (reasons for game attendance), and a decision tree analysis for classifying
spectators based on their reported game attendance frequencies, activity patterns, and
interests. Results of study 1 indicate that the respondents' game attendance rates were
affected by income, use of hockey websites, playing baseball when young, job, being
accompanied by co-workers, ethnic background, perception of T.V. as the best
promotional medium, personal fan history, and playing hockey when young. Study 2
investigated the relationship between spectators' opinions about sports and their game
attendance, and attempted to identify potential predictors of game attendance levels. A
confirmatory factor analysis was used in Study 2 to test the validity of the sport opinion
items (opinions about sports), and a cluster analysis was used to identify unique
spectator groups. Three distinctive spectator segments were identified, and the three
groups varied on a number of dimensions including game attendance rates, sports
participation history, and their opinions about the benefits of sports, community pride,
cynicism about professional sports, attitude toward professional athletes, perceived time
costs, role of government, and attitude toward amateur sports. The research found
evidence of national cultural differences between Canadian sports spectators and their
American counterparts. It is recommended that future research investigate national and
regional cultural differences as well as differences between major and minor league
sports and competitive factors in local sports markets. / Education, Faculty of / Kinesiology, School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/16193 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Bae, Sang Woo |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 6387950 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
Page generated in 0.0015 seconds