Scheduled for The Consortium of Research in HPERD and Social, Wednesday, April 2, 2003, 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall A


Market Demand Variables Associated With Game Consumption Levels of Minor League Hockey Game Spectators

James J. Zhang1, Jessica Braunstein1, Matthew Ellis1, Eddie T. C. Lam2 and Debbie Williamson3, (1)University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, (2)Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, (3)Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC

Game attendance is a major revenue producer for professional sport teams. Although numerous experts in sport marketing have indicated the importance of studying sport consumer expectations and market demands toward the core products of sporting events, market demand studies have primarily focused on major league sports. The research findings lack applicability to a minor league setting, which has its uniqueness in terms of competition level, event attractiveness, local marketing practice, media exposure, consumer segment, and so on. The purpose of this study was to identify market demand variables associated with game consumption levels of minor league hockey game spectators. Research participants were spectators (N=2225) randomly selected from six regular season home games of a minor league hockey team. Through a review of literature, interviewing the team administrators, on-site observations, a focus group study, and test of content validity by a panel of experts in sport marketing and professional team management, a questionnaire was developed with three sections: 10 market demand variables in Likert 10-point scale, three game consumption variables, and seven sociodemographic variables. Calculation of descriptive statistics and one-sample t-tests with adjusted alpha levels revealed that love of hockey, ticket discount, ticket price, and day of week were regarded the most important market demand variables by the minor league hockey game consumers. Multiple regression analyses revealed that these four variables were also significantly (p < .05) predictive of game consumption levels, demonstrating that not only were these variables important, but also relevant to consumption levels. Hierarchical regression analyses further revealed that there was an antecedent influence by the sociodemographic variables on the relationships between the market demand and the game consumption variables. The findings indicate that unlike major league sport consumers who focus on win/loss record, star players, opposing team quality, and great publicity as reported in the literature, minor league hockey game consumers focus more on the love of the sport, economic, and convenience factors. The findings emphasize the merits of these variables in formulating the marketing mix for minor league hockey teams. Marketing practices by minor league hockey teams should take into consideration the sociodemographic backgrounds of consumers when developing game presentations and promotional procedures.

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