Competitive Balance and Game Attendance in Major League Baseball

James W. Meehan, Randy Nelson and Thomas V. Richardson
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James W. Meehan: Colby College
Thomas V. Richardson: Colby College

Journal of Sports Economics, 2007, vol. 8, issue 6, 563-580

Abstract: This article tests for the effects of a change in competitive balance on attendance at Major League Baseball games using game-level attendance data for the 2000-2002 seasons. Employing the difference between the winning percentages of the home and visiting teams as a measure of competitive balance, the authors find (a) the effects of a change in competitive balance on attendance are not symmetric, (b) the effects of a change in competitive balance increase as a team falls further behind the divisional leader, and (c) the effects of a change in competitive balance decline throughout the season if the home team has a better record than the visiting team but increase if the home team has a worse record than the visiting team.

Keywords: competitive balance; attendance; Major League Baseball (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jospec:v:8:y:2007:i:6:p:563-580

DOI: 10.1177/1527002506296545

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