[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hcx/wpaper/0704.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Big Men on Campus: Estimating the Economic Impact of College Sports on Local Economies

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Baade

    (Department of Economics and Business, Lake Forest College)

  • Robert Baumann

    (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)

  • Victor Matheson

    (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)

Abstract
College football and men’s basketball are the largest revenue generators in college athletics. Studies funded by athletic boosters tout the economic benefits of a college athletic program as an incentive for host cities to construct new stadiums or arenas at considerable public expense. Our analysis of the economic impact of home football and men’s basketball games on Tallahassee (home of Florida State University) and Gainesville (home of the University of Florida) between 1980 to early-2007 fails to support these claims. Men’s basketball games at these universities have no statistically significant impact on taxable sales, while football yields a modest gain of $2 to $3 million per home game. While this positive finding is one of the first in the academic literature of the impact of sports, these gains pale in comparison to the figures in many of the studies funded by athletic boosters.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2007. "Big Men on Campus: Estimating the Economic Impact of College Sports on Local Economies," Working Papers 0704, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0704
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hcapps.holycross.edu/hcs/RePEc/hcx/HC0704-Matheson-Baade-Baumann_CollegeSports.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert Baade & Victor Matheson, 2004. "The Quest for the Cup: Assessing the Economic Impact of the World Cup," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(4), pages 343-354.
    2. Murphy, Robert G. & Trandel, Gregory A., 1994. "The relation between a university's football record and the size of its applicant pool," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 265-270, September.
    3. Paul W. Grimes & George A. Chressanthis, 1994. "Alumni Contributions to Academics," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 27-40, January.
    4. John J. Siegfried & Andrew Zimbalist, 2000. "The Economics of Sports Facilities and Their Communities," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 95-114, Summer.
    5. Robert A. Baade & Victor A. Matheson, 2001. "Home Run or Wild Pitch?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 2(4), pages 307-327, November.
    6. Robert A. Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor A. Matheson, 2008. "Selling the Game: Estimating the Economic Impact of Professional Sports through Taxable Sales," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 794-810, January.
    7. Dennis Coates & Brad R. Humphreys, 1999. "The growth effects of sport franchises, stadia, and arenas," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(4), pages 601-624.
    8. Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2007. "Down, Set, Hike: The Economic Impact of College Football Games on Local Economies," Working Papers 0702, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    9. Louis H. Amato & John M. Gandar & Richard A. Zuber, 2001. "The Impact of Proposition 48 on the Relationship Between Football Success and Football Player Graduation Rates," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 2(2), pages 101-112, May.
    10. Victor Matheson & Robert Baade, 2004. "Padding Required: Assessing the Economic Impact of the Super Bowl," Working Papers 0403, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    11. Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2005. "Selling the Big Game: Estimating the Economic Impact of Mega-Events through Taxable Sales," Working Papers 0510, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    12. TA. Rhoads & S. Gerking, 2000. "Educational contributions, academic quality, and athletic success," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 18(2), pages 248-258, April.
    13. Robert A. Baade & Robert W. Baumann & Victor A. Matheson, 2008. "Assessing the Economic Impact of College Football Games on Local Economies," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(6), pages 628-643, December.
    14. Tucker, Irvin B., 2004. "A reexamination of the effect of big-time football and basketball success on graduation rates and alumni giving rates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 655-661, December.
    15. Tucker, Irvin III & Amato, Louis, 1993. "Does big-time success in football or basketball affect SAT scores?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 177-181, June.
    16. Robert A. Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor A. Matheson, 2008. "Selling the Game: Estimating the Economic Impact of Professional Sports through Taxable Sales," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(3), pages 794-810, January.
    17. Patrick James Rishe, 2003. "A Reexamination of How Athletic Success Impacts Graduation Rates: Comparing Student‐Athletes to All Other Undergraduates," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 407-427, April.
    18. McCormick, Robert E & Tensley, Maurice, 1987. "Athletics versus Academics? Evidence from SAT Scores," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1103-1116, October.
    19. Dennis Coates & Craig A Depken, 2009. "The Impact of College Football Games on Local Sales Tax Revenue: Evidence from Four Cities in Texas," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 531-547.
    20. Irvin B. Tucker, 2005. "Big-Time Pigskin Success," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 6(2), pages 222-229, May.
    21. Amato, Louis & Gandar, John M. & Tucker, Irvin B. & Zuber, Richard A., 1996. "Bowls versus playoffs: The impact on football player graduation rates in the national collegiate athletic association," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 187-195, April.
    22. Dennis Coates & Craig A. Depken, II, 2006. "Mega-Events: Is the Texas-Baylor game to Waco what the Super Bowl is to Houston?," Working Papers 0606, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    23. Coates, Dennis & Humphreys, Brad R., 2003. "The effect of professional sports on earnings and employment in the services and retail sectors in US cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 175-198, March.
    24. Dennis Coates & Brad R. Humphreys, 2002. "The Economic Impact of Postseason Play in Professional Sports," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 3(3), pages 291-299, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arne Feddersen & Wolfgang Maennig, 2013. "Mega-Events And Sectoral Employment: The Case Of The 1996 Olympic Games," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 31(3), pages 580-603, July.
    2. Rasmus K. Storm & Tor Georg Jakobsen & Christian Gjersing Nielsen, 2020. "The impact of Formula 1 on regional economies in Europe," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(6), pages 827-837, June.
    3. Dennis Coates, 2009. "Hotel Tax Collections and a Local Mega-Event," Working Papers 0901, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    4. Philip K. Porter & Daniel M. Chin, 2012. "Economic Impact of Sports Events," Chapters, in: Wolfgang Maennig & Andrew Zimbalist (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Mega Sporting Events, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Carl Singleton & Adrian r. Bell & Andy Chung & J. James Reade & Andrew Urquhart, 2024. "Scoring goals: The impact of English Premier League football teams on local university admissions," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2024-02, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    6. Matthias Brachert, 2021. "Regional effects of professional sports franchises: causal evidence from four European football leagues," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(2), pages 295-306, February.
    7. Francisco Antonio García Márquez & María del Carmen Pérez Gónzález & Francisco Javier Maza Ávila, 2024. "El Gasto Público Y El Esfuerzo Empresarial En El Deporte Y Su Relación Con El Desarrollo Territorial: El Caso De Las Comunidades Autónomas Españolas," Revista de Estudios Regionales, Universidades Públicas de Andalucía, vol. 1, pages 157-191.
    8. Geoffrey Propheter, 2019. "Estimating the Effect of Sports Facilities on Local Area Commercial Rents: Evidence From Brooklyn’s Barclays Center," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(1), pages 91-114, January.
    9. Janhuba, Radek, 2019. "Do victories and losses matter? Effects of football on life satisfaction," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 75(PB).
    10. Bernard F. Lentz & David N. Laband, 2008. "The Impact of College Athletics on Employment in the Restaurant and Accommodations Industries," Working Papers 0803, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    11. Christelle Khalaf & G. Jason Jolley & Candi Clouse, 2022. "The Economic Impact of Small Colleges on Local Economies: A Guide to Attainable Data and Best Practices," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 36(1), pages 17-32, February.
    12. Brachert, Matthias, 2018. "The regional effects of professional sports franchises: Causal evidence from four European football leagues," IWH Discussion Papers 10/2018, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    13. Joshua Martin & Joshua Hall, 2020. "The Impact of the New York City Marathon on Hotel Demand," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-10, October.
    14. Michal Varmus & Martin Mičiak & Milan Kubina & Roman Adámik, 2022. "Determinants of the tennis players' success and their effect on the sports organizations' sustainability," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 10(1), pages 132-157, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robert A. Baade & Robert W. Baumann & Victor A. Matheson, 2008. "Assessing the Economic Impact of College Football Games on Local Economies," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(6), pages 628-643, December.
    2. Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2007. "Down, Set, Hike: The Economic Impact of College Football Games on Local Economies," Working Papers 0702, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    3. Roberto Gásquez & Vicente Royuela, 2014. "Is Football an Indicator of Development at the International Level?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 827-848, July.
    4. Dennis Coates & Craig A. Depken, II, 2008. "Do College Football Games Pay for Themselves? The Impact of College Football Games on Local Sales Tax Revenue," Working Papers 0802, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    5. Robert A Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor A Matheson, 2009. "Rejecting “Conventional” Wisdom: Estimating the Economic Impact of National Political Conventions," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 520-530.
    6. Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson & Chihiro Muroi, 2008. "Bowling in Hawaii: Examining the Effectiveness of Sports-Based Tourism Strategies," Working Papers 0808, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    7. Dennis Coates & Victor Matheson, 2011. "Mega-events and housing costs: raising the rent while raising the roof?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 46(1), pages 119-137, February.
    8. Dennis Coates & Brad R. Humphreys, 2008. "Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Subsidies for Sports Franchises, Stadiums, and Mega-Events?," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 5(3), pages 294-315, September.
    9. Robert W. Baumann & Victor A. Matheson & Chihiro Muroi, 2009. "Bowling in Hawaii," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 10(1), pages 107-123, February.
    10. Agha, Nola & Rascher, Daniel, 2013. "When can economic impact be positive? Nine conditions that explain why smaller sports can have bigger impacts," MPRA Paper 48016, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Robert W. Baumann & Victor A. Matheson, 2017. "Many happy returns? The Pro-Bowl, mega-events, and tourism in Hawaii," Tourism Economics, , vol. 23(4), pages 788-802, June.
    12. Matheson, Victor A., 2007. "Research note: Athletic graduation rates and Simpson's Paradox," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 516-520, August.
    13. Feddersen, Arne & Maennig, Wolfgang, 2012. "Sectoral labour market effects of the 2006 FIFA World Cup," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 860-869.
    14. Malcolm Getz & John Siegfried, 2010. "What Does Intercollegiate Athletics Do To or For Colleges and Universities?," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 1005, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    15. D. Randall Smith, 2008. "Big-Time College Basketball and the Advertising Effect," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 9(4), pages 387-406, August.
    16. D. Randall Smith, 2009. "College Football and Student Quality: An Advertising Effect or Culture and Tradition?," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(2), pages 553-579, April.
    17. Jerome Segura III & Jonathan Willner, 2019. "Athleticism in NCAA D-III: It Ain’t Only Football That Matters," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 20(7), pages 929-958, October.
    18. Michael L. Anderson, 2017. "The Benefits of College Athletic Success: An Application of the Propensity Score Design," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(1), pages 119-134, March.
    19. Jesyca Salgado-Barandela & à ngel Barajas & Patricio Sánchez-Fernández, 2021. "Sport-event portfolios: An analysis of their ability to attract revenue from tourism," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(3), pages 436-454, May.
    20. Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2006. "The Economic Consequences of Professional Sports Strikes and Lockouts: Revisited," Working Papers 0609, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    sports; basketball; football; college sports; impact analysis; mega-event;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R53 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Public Facility Location Analysis; Public Investment and Capital Stock

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0704. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Victor Matheson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deholus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.