The National Hockey League and Cross-Border Fandom

Brian Mills and Mark S. Rosentraub

Journal of Sports Economics, 2014, vol. 15, issue 5, 497-518

Abstract: This article uses daily border-crossing data within the Niagara region of Ontario and New York to evaluate the Canadian market for a U.S.-based National Hockey League (NHL) team, the Buffalo Sabres. We conservatively estimate that 15% of attendees at Buffalo Sabres home games travel from Canada. This effect is heterogeneous with respect to the opponent country of origin, with higher levels of game day border crossing associated with a Canadian visiting team. We also find fan substitution effects between Buffalo and the Toronto Maple Leafs with respect to both the price of attendance and the quality of each team. Implications extend to NHL expansion near international borders and compensation to incumbent teams both within and across the national border near where an expansion or relocated team is placed.

Keywords: hockey; fan substitution; international trade; travel costs; league expansion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jospec:v:15:y:2014:i:5:p:497-518

DOI: 10.1177/1527002514535174

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