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Editor’s Note: This study was reprinted in part from World Leisure Journal, No 3/2006, Volume 48, with permission from co-author Dr. Sam Lankford. Dr. Lankford is a professor, graduate advisor and Doctoral Program Coordinator for the University of Northern Iowa’s School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services (HPELS). He’s also Director of UNI’s Sustainable Tourism and the Environment Program and the though the study encompasses a local soccer tournament, the lessons learned about a community’s need to host various sporting events for the resulting positive economic impact can be held true for any sport or community. Chris Koawalski is a HPELS assistant professor. Ariana Cela is Albania’s budget director and a former UNI doctoral student.
Abstract
Within the events and attractions industry, short-term tourism events have increasingly gained popularity as catalysts for local economic development. Many communities promote sport, recreation and tourism opportunities to make full use of their recreational facilities, and to expand and diversify their local economy. Identifying who the spectators are in these small-scale sporting events will help to effectively apply marketing strategies and to accurately measure direct economic impact of such events. This study was designed to investigate the spectators’ characteristics and the economic benefit of a small-scale sports event, the Cedar Valley Moonlight Classic Soccer Tournament, held at the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Association Complex in Waterloo in 2004 during the month of June. The findings are useful to demonstrate the economic contribution to a community, and to illustrate to parks and recreation administrators an avenue for more effective decisionmaking and support for these types of events in their communities.
Introduction
Much of the research in sports tourism has been conducted on mega or hallmark events. Sporting events have served as an impetus for commercial stimulation as far back as the Roman era when the national economy was dependent on the games conducted at the Circus Maximum. The magnitude of these events and their respective revenue generation potential may range from several million dollars from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta to several thousand dollars produced by a weekend cycling race. Small-scale sports events occur within the community’s existing infrastructure, they require little investment of public funds, and are more manageable by the parks and recreation administration in terms of crowding and congestion. These events can provide the host community with an opportunity to secure a prominent position in the tourism market for a short and well-defined period of time. Many individuals associated with the event would not have visited the host site if it was not for the event itself.
The purpose of this study was to explore spectators’ characteristics in the Tournament, and to estimate the magnitude of the economic impact of the Tournament to the community. A questionnairebased survey was designed.
One hundred sixteen spectators were questioned during the three days of the Tournament. Nearly 63 percent were not residents of Waterloo or Cedar Falls. Men and women were almost equally represented. Almost 49 percent fell between 41-45 years of age. The largest percentage of the spectators (32.9%) belonged to the $70,000-$99,999 income range.
The respondents stayed mostly at a hotel or motel (85.5%) in Waterloo or Cedar Falls and most of them (83.6%) stayed one night. The majority of the spectators (98.4%) had as their primary purpose of the trip coming to the Tournament, while only just less than two percent were visiting friends and relatives. Most of them (75.8%) would have not visited Waterloo or Cedar Falls if the Tournament had not been held.
Almost half of the spectators (49.4%) were first time visitors, while the rest were repeat visitors. The travel party size ranged from one to six people, inclusive of players and spectators.
The highest mean expenditure per travel party was for lodging ($78.19). For in transit spending, the highest mean expenditure was also on lodging ($95). The average total spent per travel party for the Tournament was $506.34 (286.56 spent in Cedar Falls/Waterloo during the tournament and $219.78 on the way to the tournament).
First time visitors spent significantly more on gifts, clothing and souvenirs than repeat visitors. With regard to auto expenses, first time visitors spent significantly less than repeat visitors. First time visitors spent more on lodging than repeat visitors, though not statistically significant. There was no significant difference between the two groups in spending on restaurants.
Economic Impact
The model used for the purpose of this study estimates the economic impact of the Tournament in Black Hawk County and its six contiguous counties. The area is 4,391 square miles, has a population of 240,644 and 100,483 households (at time of study).
This study has shown that the total economic impact of the Tournament in these counties was estimated in terms of sales to be $137,000. So, an additional spectator spending of $1 generates $.56 new output in the economy of the counties mentioned. Nearly $21,000 of these effects is “indirect”, thus representing the supply transactions that support Tournamentrelated businesses. Approximately $28,000 of these effects is “induced”, thus resulting from personal purchases made by workers of Tournament-related businesses and indirect businesses in the area. The results show a significant economic impact of the small local event in local communities, comparable with the economic impact of visitors in the same area.
Conclusion
The generalisability of the results is unknown since many local events are unique in their format and composition depending on the local community. Through supporting local businesses and encouraging participation within community sporting and volunteer groups, a local sporting event can generate value to the hosts, not just the visitors or tourism industry. This enhancement of the host population’s economy is possibly the most significant difference between local special events and large-scale events held in big cities.
STEP
UNI’s Sustainable Tourism and Environment Program (STEP)
STEP’s mission is to promote tourism planning and policy in Iowa which supports beneficial social, cultural and environmental relationships in the tourism development process, and facilitates the use of sustainable practices within the existing tourism industry.
It was established at UNI to assist industry, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and special interest groups with their tourism development efforts. Tourism is one of the world’s largest growth industries. As with any type of development, tourism development should improve the overall quality of life in Iowa’s communities, addressing economic well-being, cultural and social support and environmental quality. See www.uni.edu/step.
STEP is an outgrowth of the Governor’s Summit “Enhancing the Livability of Iowa Communities”. It was initially funded by the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Education.
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