Impact Of Sport Stadiums On Fan Experience: Analysis And Strategies

How Sport Stadiums can influence the fan experience?

The students will compile an individual research proposal of 2,500- 3,000 words. They will be expected to develop their own research question/aim, identify the relevant theoretical concepts, select a methodological approach, design and implement a pilot study and then critically reflect on this design and its feasibility and validity. 

This is a study, which will analyze the impact of sports stadiums on the fan experience. Sports have been popular field of entertainment for a long time but commercialization of sports has changed the perspective in terms of business. The primary goal of the sports authorities is to increase the number of attendees in the stadium events. The consumers in the market have a variety of modes of entertainment and with the rise in the prices of tickets; the organizers are trying to add value to the experience to improve the sales volume of the organization.

Technological advancement has provided the consumers of enjoying sports events. The fans can watch their favourite events on different platforms, which include television medium, laptops and smartphones. Moreover, the prices of tickets have increased significantly and providing the fans with best possible experience is essential to hold on to the repeat purchasing and to maintain the attendance at such events (Parker 2017). The sports organizations are using new strategies for retaining the existing consumers in the market. Moreover, the recent trend suggests that the needs and wants of the consumers are changing in a rapid rate. Thus, fans expect digital connectivity of extreme levels, excellent customer service and convenience. They want facilities such fast internet connectivity, better directions, less hassle and shorter lines (Wainwright 2017). Therefore, the consumers are reshaping technological factors to improve the customer experience for fans by introducing new mobile platforms and tools. The new applications are enabling the stadium management to interact with fans at different levels.  The application will allow the consumers to find proper parking spots and provide them, directions about their seats. Thus, the new apps will improve the overall experience of the consumers. This study will analyze the impact of sport stadiums and its facilities on the fan experience. Moreover, it will identify the changes that are brought to improve the customer experience.

• To evaluate the impact of smart sports stadiums on fan experience
• To identify the significance of smart sports stadiums on fan experience
• To identify the factors and features of sport stadiums that create impact on fan experience
• To identify possible factors to be included to enhance fan experience
• To recommend suitable strategies for further improving consumer experience through stadium development

H₀- Smart sports stadiums have no impact on fan experience

H₁- Smart sports stadiums have impact on fan experience

• What is the impact of smart sports stadiums on fan experience?
• What is the significance of smart sports stadiums on fan experience?

There are various reasons and motivation of sports consumers for attending different games and events.  The attachment of consumers to a team will be an essential identifier of their needs and wants. The sports fans become highly involved as they follow sports very closely. However, there are other driving factors for sports fans and identification of these factors is essential for increasing revenue generation. However, gender and preferences in sports are crucial driving factors.  The gaming experience is also a driving factor for a majority of fans as they are deeply attached to a particular game. As the majority of the consumers belong to this category enhancing the performance of the consumers are becoming more important in order to retain the frequent audience. 

Factors Influencing Fan Experience

As stated by Rhee, Wong and Kim (2016), the population that is wholly committed and oriented towards a particular team or sport can be defined as a sport fan. A sport will definitely show consistency, loyalty and dedication towards that particular sport or team.  The commitment of sports fans can be divided in to three categories and they are attitudinal, cognitive and behavioural. Some consumers that have great deal of knowledge about a particular sport or team and other consumers firmly believe in a specific sport or team. There are other that shows their appreciation through the purchase of merchandise and tickets. These consumers are loyal to a team or a sport even though the performance of the team and the sport is still not up to the mark. Even though their team is not performing well, they will turn up at the stadium to provide moral support to the team. According to da Silva and Las Casas (2017), the sports fan are described using several terms such as vested fan, highly committed fan, diehard fan and  passionate partisan.  Thus, distinguishing between mere spectators and fans is important in order to develop suitable strategies for improving their experience. Fans will have more intensity about the sport they follow and will remember their experience in each of the games. Thus, providing them with excellent quality of experience is essential for retaining these fans.

According to Yoshida, Heere and Gordon (2015), there are generally four key drivers, which will influence the attendance of the consumers in any stadium.  The first factor is pure entertainment value, the team or the sport providing a great deal of entertainment for the fans will be able to hold to these consumers. On the contrary, Nakazawa et al. (2015) states, that entertainment value will have a short-term effect on the consumers. However, studies show that there has been a long-term loyalty of consumers in various sports where the popularity and craze have kept on increasing. The quality of entertainment during the halftime is crucial in gaining success for a short time unless there is variety in type of entertainment provided.

As opined by Fillis and Mackay (2014), the next factor is authenticity, which includes the perception of the fans; if the fans can believe that the game is real and excellent performance is due to the overall team effort then repeat purchase can be increased. However, the pride of the team also provides authenticity even though they are not performing well. This means that the fans need full commitment from the players. Moreover, some fans are attached to the winning team in any league and the success of the teams drives the fans. The third factor is bonding with teammates will increase the loyalty of the consumers and personal attachment is extremely useful in increasing stadium appearances. Thus, personal interaction with the fans is an important strategy of improving stadium appearances as they feel that they have contributed to the victory of the team.

Customer Experience Management in Sports Industry

According to DeSchriver et al. 2016), the fourth factor is tradition and history of the sport and the team, which the fans are supporting. Thus, the culture of the club and the team is an essential driving factor for improving stadium attendance. Lee, Heere and Chung (2013) states, that popularity of the players are important driving factors for increasing stadium attendance. Thus, these show that quality performance, entertainment factor and team identification are the driving factors. 

 As stated by Fillis and Mackay (2014), customer experience management is a key factor in today’s business industry and providing the loyal consumers’ value for money, is essential. Engagement is a key strategy used by the big clubs from the entire world in order to increase their involvement in this particular spoor or organization. As opined by Nakazawa et al. (2016), fans generally seek an opportunity of attending special events and arranging such events will be essential for improving the experience of fans.  According to Rhee, Wong and Kim (2016), customer engagement theory can explain the logic behind providing the fans with the opportunity of interacting with the clubs and players entirely. The customer engagement theory states that consumers use cognitive evaluation to identify a product along with their personal preferences. Thus, providing the opportunity of delivering congruence is a more likely factor of increasing the consumption of a sports fan. Thus, the clubs to form a bond with the consumers and increase their sales volumes use emotional affinity.

As stated by Nakazawa et al. (2016), facilities provided by the clubs in various stadiums is also a major factor influencing the consumption pattern of a fan. The use of technology to  improve in the stadium facilities has seen effective results. As the numbers of options have increased, the consumers have multiple of having better experience and entertainment. There is significant focus on the overall experience of the fans when they attend a match or event. The emergence of smart stadiums is being applied to a lot of countries and its showing great success. However, there are researchers have a different opinion who feels that emotional connection and engaging fans will be enough to improve attendance in stadiums.

As stated by Hughes (2016), fans are expecting a more captivating experience, and cities hope to earn more from investing in such sports complexes. Therefore, the sports operators are in dilemma that whether they should implement change management or not. According to Esposito (2015), even though the firms’ short-term profit will be reduced, form a long-term perspective there will increase in the revenue generation streams in the organization.

Smart Stadiums and Fan Experience

As stated by Mastromartino, Chou and Zhang (2017), sophisticated home entertainment systems are having an adverse effect on stadium attendance. Smart stadiums are the solution to all the problems that the stadium authorities are facing in improving stadium attendance.  Live sports are one of the best forms of entertainment but still, it is struggling to compete with a comfortable home environment and huge screens. Thus, providing technologically sophisticated service to the sports consumers is essential to maintaining the sustainability of these organizations. Stadium management have focused on improving the fan experience by improving the quality of experience. Stadium management is trying to create an environment that cannot be achieved at home even with sophisticated devices.

According to Panchanathan et al. (2017), the solution to all the issues faced by the sports management authorities is smart stadiums. A smart stadium will comprise of a large number of cameras, digital signs and sensors, which are, connected wireless networks. The sensors will provide exact information about the various parking spots, concession spots, waiting lines and relevant information about the stadium. Cameras will be fixed to every corner of the stadium to ensure safety of all sports fans in the stadium. The implementation of smart stadiums will have major benefits for host cities as it increases the profitability and fan experience.

As stated by Panchanathan et al. (2017), implementing technology into the stadiums will improve the business model of the organization. Therefore, the organization will be able to make improvements in their operational efficiency, which in turn will facilitate in reducing the long-term cost structure and increasing the revenue generation streams. Fan experience is another crucial factor, which will be enhanced by smart stadiums; fans will be able to order to food and get it delivered directly to their seats, this will personalize the shopping experience of the sports consumers. Thus, the smart stadiums will be able to provide the consumers with relevant information and convenience, which will enhance the quality of their experience.

The literature mentioned in the above study has not taken essential factors in account such as macro environment. The theories mentioned in the literature review are based fan behaviour in a particular environment and will not be applicable to all sports segments. This means that the driving factor for sports fans will be different. Thus, this study will identify factors that will be globally responsible for improving global experience of fans.

Challenges of Implementing Smart Stadiums

Research methodology is one of the most significant parts of the study and consists of identification of research design, research philosophy, research approach, sampling, reliability and validity. Even though identification of research methodology is essential, implementation of the research methods is also necessary (Mackey and Gass 2015). Research methods will determine the success of this current research as an appropriate methodology is vital for significant findings. The study will consist of a mixed method, which will consist of both quantitative and qualitative analysis of data.

There are generally five types of research philosophy used in business and academic research. They are positivism, pragmatism, interpretivisim, post-positivism and realism (Taylor,  Bogdan and DeVault 2015). Positivism is a philosophy in which the hidden facts are identified by using relevant observation. Interpretivism is used in a secondary analysis of data where the articles and journals are used to identify relevant findings. This will consider the human elements mentioned in the study. Realism will consist of direct and critical realism where one accepts the personal sense of human beings and other rejects it. Post-positivism will reject all the assumptions made by positivism and will consider both scientific and day-to-day approach. Pragmatism will accept all the doctrines available and will facilitate in conducting both qualitative and quantitative analysis of data. Thus, in this study, pragmatism is the chosen philosophy (Flick 2015). 

Resign design will consist of sequential explanatory research as a mixed method is used for the study. The study will initially conduct the quantitative analysis of data and the qualitative data will interpret, validate and support the quantitative analysis. There are two types of approaches in research, one is the inductive approach, and other is the deductive approach (Silverman 2016).  As pragmatism is the research philosophy, inductive and deductive approach can be used simultaneously. However, in this current study, a deductive approach will be used as it will validate the existing theories. Inductive approach is used for development of new assumptions and generalizations and thus, has been rejected. The deductive approach will confirm the existing theories and hypothesis.

The data collection method will consist of primary data collection method where quantitative and qualitative analysis of data will be conducted. The quantitative analysis will comprise of survey and questionnaires, which will include of close-ended questions. The qualitative analysis will consist of open-ended questions and the patterns in the answers will be identified to provide a different dimension to the study (Panneerselvam 2014). The quantitative analysis will consist of mathematical calculation where mean, median, mode and regression will be identified. The regression analysis will establish the relationship between the dependent and the independent variable. A regression equation is essential for recognizing the explaining capability of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

Conclusion and Future Research

Sampling is a method of collecting small size form overall population as the overall population is huge. Sampling will select a small population sample from the whole population sample. There are two types of sampling methods, one is Probabilistic sampling, and other is Non-Probabilistic sampling. In Probabilistic sampling, respondents are selected randomly from the overall population, and it is generally preferred as it provides equal opportunity to the respondents of being selected (Alvesson and Sköldberg 2017).  Systematic sampling, simple random sampling and stratified sampling are the different types of probabilistic sampling methods.  In systematic sampling, an interval is decided and based on this interval the same population are selected. For examples, if the selected range is I then the I^th respondents will be chosen in each interval. In simple random sampling, the respondents are selected randomly from the overall population. In stratified sampling, the overall population will be divided in to non-overlapping groups and respondents are selected randomly form each of the groups. Non-Probabilistic sampling will identify sample population where the availability of relevant respondents is minimal. This is the case for snowball sampling where the hidden respondents will be identified in the study.  However, there is an availability of data so probabilistic sampling will be used and to be specific simple random sampling will be used to select respondents for the study. The sample size for this study is 50 in quantitative analysis and in qualitative analysis, the sample size is 5. The quantitative analysis will survey the lower level employees of the stadium management and qualitative analysis will consist of higher-level management. 

The ability of the instruments of concluding the same thing from similar research topics is known as reliability. As stated by Csikszentmihalyi and Larson (2014), reliability will ensure a positive outcome of the study and fulfill all the requirement of the study is known as validity. As opined by Noble and Smith (2015), high validity in the study can be achieved by interpreting, collecting and measuring data in the study. It is expected this study will consist of data having high validity and reliability so a positive outcome is expected.

Maintaining ethical ground should one of the priorities of business and academic research. In this study, no fake data has been used and all the data is backed by evidence. The data has not been used in other articles and journals. The confidentiality of the respondents has been kept in mind to protect the privacy of the respondents. None of the respondents has been forced to take part in the study.  

Table 1: Gantt chart

(Source: As created by author)

Data analysis will consist of quantitative analysis followed by qualitative analysis, which will interpret and support the findings of the quantitative study. In this study, if all the research procedures are followed according to the mentioned method then a positive result is expected.  

Conclusion

Thus, the conclusion from the study can be acquired from the relevant literature discussed and the methodology that has been identified. The execution of these processes will be necessary for achieving the desired result. Sampling is the most crucial part of the study and collecting data with high degree of reliability and validity will be critical in the study. Thus, this study will provide specific findings and establish a relationship between the dependent and independent variable 

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