Are Fair Weather Fans Affected by Weather? Rainfall, Habit Formation and Live Game Attendance

Qi Ge, Brad Humphreys and Kun Zhou
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Qi Ge: Skidmore College, Department of Economics
Kun Zhou: Skidmore College, Department of Economics

No 17-24, Working Papers from Department of Economics, West Virginia University

Abstract: We analyze habit formation in sports attendance utilizing rainfall as an unexpected, transitory shock to attendance costs. Using attendance data from Major League Baseball (MLB) and NOAA weather data, we analyze the impact of variation in game day weather conditions on current and future MLB attendance. The empirical strategy permits identifcation of both the formation and persistence of habit from exogenous weather shocks. Past adverse weather shocks increase future attendance by about 200 fans per game. Our study contributes to the literature developing empirical evidence of habit formation in the field and provides policy implications for optimal ticket pricing strategies.

Keywords: habit formation; rainfall; attendance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D03 D12 Z2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20 pages
Date: 2017-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-spo
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Journal Article: Are Fair Weather Fans Affected by Weather? Rainfall, Habit Formation, and Live Game Attendance (2020)
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