The Impacts of Promotions/Marketing, Scheduling, and Economic Factors on Total Gross Revenues for Minor League Baseball Teams

Cebula, Richard and Coombs, Christopher and Lawson, Luther and Foley, Maggie (2013): The Impacts of Promotions/Marketing, Scheduling, and Economic Factors on Total Gross Revenues for Minor League Baseball Teams. Published in: International Advances in Economic Research , Vol. 19, No. 3 (26 August 2013): pp. 249-257.

Abstract

This empirical study finds that total revenues at minor league baseball games are influenced by marketing, economic factors, scheduling, and the weather. In particular, total gross revenues are an increasing function of marketing/promotions such as low value merchandise giveaways, high value merchandise giveaways, group discounts, and fireworks displays. Revenues are also an increasing function of the metropolitan area population and a decreasing function of poverty rates. Teams with higher priced general admissions tickets also experience higher revenues. Revenues are generally higher on Fridays and Saturdays and during July and August (and possibly June), while being lower on Mondays and Tuesdays and during May. Finally, inclement weather, especially rain, reduces revenues.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: promotions; scheduling; economic factors; total gross revenue
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D12 - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L25 - Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L29 - Other

References

Burger, J., & Walters, S. (2003). “Market Size, Pay, and Performance: A Generalized Model and Application to Major League Baseball,” Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 4 (1), 108-25.

Cebula, R.J., & Belton, W. (1996). Economics of the Sports Industry, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co.

Cebula, R.J., Toma, M., & Carmichael, J.(2009). “Attendance and Promotions in Minor League Baseball: Preliminary Results for the Carolina League,” Applied Economics, 39 (6): 3209-14.

Cousens, L. (1997). “The Dynamics of Change in AAA Baseball Franchises,” Journal of Sport Management, 11 (4): 316-34.

Denaux, Z.S., Denaux, D.A., & Yalcin, Y. (2011). “Factors Affecting Attendance of Major League Baseball: Revisited,” Atlantic Economic Journal, 39 (2): 117-27.

Grimes, P.W., & Chressanthis, G.A. (1994). “The Role of Intercollegiate Sports and NCAA Sanctions on Alumni Contributions,” The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 53 (1), 27-40.

Halvorsen, R., & Palmquist, R. (1980). “The Interpretation of Dummy Variables in Semilogartimic Equations,” American Economic Review, 70 (3): 171-5.

Koch, J.V., & Leonard, W.M. (1978). “The NCAA: A Socioeconomic Analysis,” The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 37 (2), 225-39.

Minor League Baseball. (2012). “Team Statistics,” at www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/

Quirk, J. P., & Fort, R.D. (1992). Pay Dirt: The Business of Professional Team Sports, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2008). “Regional Economic Accounts,” at http://www.bea.gov.

White, H. (1980). “A Heteroskedasticity-consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity,” Econometrica, Vol. 48 (5), 817-38.