What Factors Determine the Fans’ Willingness to Pay for Bundesliga Tickets? An Analysis of Ticket Sales in the Secondary Market Using Data from ebay.de

Christoph Kemper
Christoph Breuer

Ticket pricing of sporting events, a much-discussed topic in the business of sports, has intensified in recent years due to the development of dynamic ticket pricing systems in the sports industry (Drayer, Shapiro, & Lee, 2012b). Throughout the 20th century most sports managers employed either a one-size-fits-all approach, by which prices for every ticket and every game are exactly the same, or a seat-location approach, by which prices are set in correlation to proximity to the field (Drayer et al., 2012b). Due to the increasing costs of player salaries and the continuous improvement of stadiums, increased income is required (Drayer et al., 2012b). Two examples of coping strategies for generating additional income are the growth of sport sponsorships and the negotiation of stadium-naming rights (Howard & Crompton, 2005). Another source of rev-enues, examined in detail here, is the optimization of ticket pricing strategies.