Emerging Theory in Team Sport Sales: Selling Tickets in a More Competitive Arena

Rick Burton
Robert Y. Cornilles

Although many team sport marketing activities dominate the American landscape, little has been written on the selling process required to consistently fill the stadiums and arenas where the sporting events take place. In particular, many practitioners may not realize that selling the team sport product has become a year-round activity requiring significant strategic planning and human resource training for the personnel involved. The authors seek to present a broad-based overview of the selling process and the emerging theories and foundational concepts that have become required knowledge for many team sport executives. Because ticket sales can be shown to play a significant role in a team's overall revenue production, the value of discussion in this area should not be understood.