Joris Drayer
Stephen L. Shapiro
and Brendan Dwyer

Despite the high levels of team identification associated with many sport fans, previous research has established that even these consumers must be enticed with offers that are perceived to be good values before making a purchase. The current study examined three key areas related to perceived value in a spectator sport setting. First, we tested and confirmed the mediating effect of perceived value on the relationship between team identification and purchase intention in the context of sport event tickets. Second, we examined search intention as a behavioral outcome in an environment (i.e...Read more

Preethika Sainam
Sridhar Balasubramanian
and Barry L. Bayus

Tickets to sports events like the NCAA basketball tournament are currently sold well in advance of the games. Fans who wait to purchase a ticket after knowing which teams will play are often disappointed because the tickets are sold out by then. Recently, some firms have offered fans the opportunity to purchase forwards on tickets before this uncertainty is resolved. Each purchased forward is linked to a team – if that team makes it, the fan must buy the ticket; otherwise, the forward expires. Such forwards protect fans from uncertainty and provide the firm with assured revenues. This...Read more

Blaine T. Uhlman
Galen T. Trail

The Seattle Sounders FC took Major League Soccer by storm in its inaugural season of 2009. The club led the league in attendance, won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy, and clinched a playoff berth. The team’s success was attributed in part to its rabid fan base, which routinely sold out its 30,000-seat venue and nearly doubled the league attendance average. How was it that an expansion franchise was able to garner such immediate, fervent support, while original franchises with well-established fan bases struggled? This case study sought to supplement the limited current literature...Read more

James T. Reese
David L. Snyder

A number of professional sports teams are now engaged in various practices that allow tickets to be resold above face value. Such practices, which generate additional revenue for teams, are often the result of a relationship between teams and online entities such as StubHub. In one instance, a professional sports team and a ticket broker are vertically integrated. Some professional teams involved in these practices include the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Lions, Dallas Stars, and Phoenix Coyotes (Reese & Snyder, 2004). In...Read more