Andrew Chupp
E. Frank Stephenson
Ron Taylor

Although conventional wisdom holds that alcohol availability increases baseball attendance, little evidence exists on the complementarity between attendance and alcohol availability. To address this gap in the literature, we examine the effect of Rome, Georgia’s November 2004 legalization of Sunday alcohol sales on a minor league baseball team’s attendance. OLS and Tobit estimates of an attendance model find no statistically significant effect of alcohol availability on attendance. In addition to analyzing the relationship between attendance and alcohol availability, we also perform back-...Read more

Michael C. Davis

In this study we analyze the factors that determine whether a particular city has a minor league baseball team and the level at which that team competes. Using the generalized ordered logit model we determine that higher population, personal income, and time from nearest Major League Baseball team all have a positive effect on the city’s having a minor league baseball team and having one at a higher level. The finding that personal income has a positive effect on the level of the baseball team, combined with past studies suggesting income does not affect minor league baseball attendance,...Read more

Brendan Dwyer
Carrie W. Le Crom
Nathan Tomasini
Gregory A. Smith

In September of 2008 the Richmond Braves (R-Braves) of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) relocated to Gwinnett County, Georgia, after operating in the Richmond market for 43 years. Like several high-profile moves in professional sports, the crux of this team’s relocation centered on the organization’s request for a new stadium. The contentious split left Richmond, Virginia without a professional baseball team, spurned a fan base, and most importantly, opened up an important media market (58th in the country) that quickly became the envy of several MiLB organizations across the country. Despite...Read more

Tony Lachowetz
Windy Dees
Sam Todd

It is less than a month to opening day as Bradley Dodson, General Manager, walks through Historic Grayson Stadium with John Simmons, the owner of the Savannah Sand Gnats. They survey the renovation of the stadium, comment on all the work that has been done, and contemplate what the future holds for the Sand Gnats. Dodson has been preparing for a staff meeting to discuss where the Sand Gnats stand and how to improve the organization. As he takes a seat in the stands and peers out to left field where the bleachers have been removed and the wall still needs to be finished, he considers “What...Read more

Willie Burden
Ming Li

A limited amount of literature has examined the outsourcing of sport marketing operations and media rights from the perspectives of large NCAA Division I institutions or the service providers (Li & Burden, 2002). Even less attention has been given to the perspectives of professional sport organizations. This essay focuses on the nature of outsourcing from the viewpoint of minor league baseball (MiLB) organizations, to discern any similarities or differences in outsourcing decisions among the three classifications commonly referred to as AAA (Triple-A), AA (Double-A), and A (Single-A);...Read more