Donald P. Roy

More than 100 new minor league baseball stadiums were built in the 1990s and early 2000s following the opening of several successful new venues in Major League Baseball. Sports economics literature suggests that the economic impact potential of new stadiums is overstated because attendance gains from new stadiums are short lived (i.e., a novelty effect). This study examined the impact of new minor league baseball stadiums on annual attendance using attendance data from 101 stadiums opened between 1993 and 2004. Results indicated that attendance levels attained the first year a stadium...Read more

Steve P. Fraser

This study examines the relationship of locational factors on the viability of minor league hockey franchises and examines two market factors not generally found in the literature. The data suggest that minor league hockey, specifically the ECHL, has a higher probability to succeed in moderately sized markets (populations up to 500,000), with few NCAA Division I institutions, and where there is a presence of youth interest in the sport. There appears to be no significant relationship between the per capita income in a market and an ECHL franchise’s success.Read more