Journal of Applied Economic Research
ISSN 2712-7435
Sports Tournament Design as a Source of Economic Impact (Through the Example of Russian Premier League)
Ilya V. Solntsev 1, Andrey A. Kurov 2
1 Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia
2 Technology and Transactions of the B1 Group of Companies, Moscow, Russia
Abstract
In today's restricted environment, sport continues to face a lack of funding and to be perceived as an industry that can survive without support. Meanwhile, numerous studies have proven that sport is not about significant investments only, but also creates an economic impact. The aim of this work is to consider such a specific driver of economic impact as tournament design and evaluate the corresponding impact through the example of the Russian Premier League (RPL). The research hypothesis states that changing the design of the RPL tournament will lead to an increase in the total revenue of participating teams, in consumption in the host cities and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which together will lay the foundation for an economic impact at the country level and for individual regions. The paper examines three reform scenarios, which differ in the assumptions made. The authors have developed a calculation model that quantifies the economic impact of these reforms. The main triggers are the attendance at RPL matches and its derivatives (the number of away fans, the distance traveled by away fans), as well as monetary metrics: ticket & travel costs, carbon unit costs. The impact is calculated as the difference between the results achieved in the current tournament design and in potential scenarios. The study showed that the current RPL design has significant potential for economic impact. Thus, the implementation of the Optimum scenario, which does not require additional calendar reserves, will create a positive economic impact in the amount of 479 million rubles. With additional calendar opportunities and implementing the “Maximum” scenario, the effect will be 932 million rubles. This study may be useful for managers of sports competitions, heads of regional and municipal authorities, as well as sports leagues and federations.
Keywords
tournament design; sports leagues; sports economics; football economics; economic effects; economic impact.
JEL classification
Z2References
1. Davies, L.E. (2002). Sport in the city: Measuring economic significance at the local level. European Sport Management Quarterly. Vol. 2, Issue 2, 83–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184740208721915
2. Szymanski, S. (2003). The economic design of sporting contests. Journal of Economic Literature. Vol. 41, No. 4, 1137–1187. https://doi.org/10.1257/002205103771800004
3. Forrest, D., Simmons, R. (2002). Outcome uncertainty and attendance demand in sport: the case of English soccer. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series D (The Statistician). Vol. 51, Issue 2, 229–241. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9884.00314
4. Szymanski, S. (2010). The Economic Impact of the World Cup. Football Economics and Policy. London, Palgrave Macmillan, 226–235. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230274266_11
5. Baade, R.A., Matheson, V.A. (2004). Mega-Sporting Events In Developing Nations: Playing The Way To Prosperity? South African Journal of Economics. Vol. 72, Issue 5, 1085–1096. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2004.tb00147.x
6. Baade, R., Matheson, V. (2002). Bidding for the Olympics: Fools Gold? Transatlantic Sport. The Comparative Economics of North American and European Sports. Edited by C.P. Barros, M. Ibrahímo, S. Szymanski. Edward Elgar. Available at: https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/transatlantic-sport-9781840649475.html
7. Baade, R.A., Matheson, V.A. (2004). The Quest for the Cup: Assessing the Economic Impact of the World Cup. Regional Studies. Vol. 38, Issue 4, 343–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/03434002000213888
8. Noll, R.G., Zimbalist, A. (2000). Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums. American Political Science Association, Vol. 94, Issue 1, 196–197. https://doi.org/10.2307/2586420
9. Lee, C.K., Taylor, T. (2005). Critical reflections on the economic impact assessment of a mega-event: the case of 2002 FIFA World Cup. Tourism Management, Vol. 26, Issue 4, 595–603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2004.03.002
10. Maennig, W. (2007). One Year Later: A Re-Appraisal of the Economics of the 2006 Soccer World Cup. Hamburg Contemporary Economic Discussions, No. 10, 1–20. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1520530
11. Preuss, H. (2007). FIFA World Cup 2006 and its legacy on tourism. Trends and Issues in Global Tourism 2007. Edited by R. Conrady, M. Buck. Springer Berlin, Heidelberg, 83–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-70905-3_8
12. Cashman, R., Horne, J. (2013). Managing Legacy. Managing the Olympics. Edited by S. Frawley, D. Adair. Palgrave Macmillan London, 50–65. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230389588_4
13. de Nooij, M., van den Berg, M., Koopmans, C. (2013). Bread or Games? Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 14, Issue 5, 521–545. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002511429825
14. Roberts, A., Roche, N., Jones, C., Munday, M. (2016). What is the value of a Premier League football club to a regional economy? European Sport Management Quarterly, Vol. 16, Issue 5, 575–591. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2016.1188840
15. Aza, R., Baños-Pino, J., Canal Domíngez, J.F., Rodríguez Guerrero, P. (2007). The economic impact of football on the regional economy. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, Vol. 2, No. 5-6, 459–474. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSMM.2007.013961
16. Bradbury, J.C., Coates, D., Humphreys, B.R. (2023). The impact of professional sports franchises and venues on local economies: A comprehensive survey. Journal of Economic Surveys, Vol. 37, Issue 4, 1389–1431. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12533
17. Davies, L.E., Taylor, P., Ramchandani, G., Christy, E. (2019). Social return on investment (SROI) in sport: a model for measuring the value of participation in England. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Vol. 11, Issue 4, 585–605. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2019.1596967
18. Rottenberg, S. (1956). The Baseball Players’ Labor Market. Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 64, No. 3, 242–258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/257790
19. Neale, W.C. (1964). The Peculiar Economics of Professional Sports: A Contribution to the Theory of the Firm in Sporting Competition and in Market Competition. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 78, No. 1, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.2307/1880543
20. Zimbalist, A.S. (2002). Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues: An Introduction. Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 3, Issue 2, 111–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/152700250200300201
21. Fort, R., Maxcy, J. (2003). Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues: An Introduction. Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 4. Issue 2, 154–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002503004002005
22. Pawlowski, T., Nalbantis, G. (2019). Competitive balance: measurement and relevance. In: The SAGE Handbook of Sports Economics. Edited by P. Downward, B. Frick, B.R. Humphreys, T. Pawlowski, J.E. Ruseski, B.P. Soebbing. SAGE Publications Ltd, 154–162. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526470447
23. Sziklai, B.R., Biró, P., Csató, L. (2022). The efficacy of tournament designs. Computers & Operations Research, Vol. 144, 105821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2022.105821
24. Dagaev, D., Suzdaltsev, A. (2018). Competitive intensity and quality maximizing seedings in knock-out tournaments. Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, Vol. 35, Issue 1, 170–188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10878-017-0164-7
25. Csató, L. (2020). Optimal Tournament Design: Lessons from the Men’s Handball Champions League. Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 21, Issue 8, 848–868. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002520944442
26. Humphreys, B.R. (2002). Alternative Measures of Competitive Balance in Sports Leagues. Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 3, Issue 2, 133–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/152700250200300203
27. Scelles, N., Durand, C., Bonnal, L., Goyeau, D., Andreff, W. (2013). Competitive balance versus competitive intensity before a match: is one of these two concepts more relevant in explaining attendance? The case of the French football Ligue 1 over the period 2008–2011. Applied Economics, Vol. 45, Issue 29, 4184–4192. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2013.770124
28. Haugen, K.K. (2008). Point Score Systems and Competitive Imbalance in Professional Soccer. Journal of Sports Economics, Vol. 9, Issue 2, 191–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002507301116
29. Çavdaroğlu, B., Atan, T. (2020). Determining matchdays in sports league schedules to minimize rest differences. Operations Research Letters, Vol. 48, Issue 3, 209–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orl.2020.03.001
30. Loewen, C., Wicker, P. (2021). Travelling to Bundesliga matches: the carbon footprint of football fans. Journal of Sport & Tourism, Vol. 25, Issue 3, 253–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/14775085.2021.1932562
31. Pereira, R.P.T., Filimonau, V., Ribeiro, G.M. (2019). Score a goal for climate: Assessing the carbon footprint of travel patterns of the English Premier League clubs. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 227, 167–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.138
32. Haugen, K.K., Heen, K.P. (2018). Point Score Systems and Cooperative Incentives: The 3-1-0 Curse. Sports (Basel), Vol. 6, Issue 4, 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports6040110
33. Osokin, N.А., van Reeth, D. (2019). TV Broadcasting of Major Football Tournaments in Russia: Economic Context and Consumer. Journal of the New Economic Association, No. 1, 159–185. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31737/2221-2264-2019-41-1-6
34. Routledge (2000). The Keynesian Multiplier. 1st Edition. Edited by C. Gnos, L.-P. Rochon. London, Routledge, 224 p. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203505465
About Authors
Ilya Vasilievich Solntsev
Doctor of Economics, Associate Professor, Head of Marketing and Sports Business Department, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia (127083, Moscow, Verkhnyaya Maslovka street, 15); ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9562-8535 e-mail: Ilia.solntsev@gmail.com
Andrey Alexandrovich Kurov
Consultant, Department of Consulting, Technology and Transactions of the B1 Group of Companies, Moscow, Russia (115035, Moscow, Sadovnicheskaya embankment, 77, building 1); ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2118-7465 e-mail: rldbta@gmail.com
For citation
Solntsev, I.V., Kurov, A.A. (2024). Sports Tournament Design as a Source of Economic Impact (Through the Example of Russian Premier League). Journal of Applied Economic Research, Vol. 23, No. 2, 304-340. https://doi.org/10.15826/vestnik.2024.23.2.013
Article info
Received February 27, 2024; Revised March 28, 2024; Accepted April 17, 2024.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/vestnik.2024.23.2.013
Download full text article:
~2 MB, *.pdf
(Uploaded
25.06.2024)
Created / Updated: 2 September 2015 / 20 September 2021
© Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education «Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N.Yeltsin»
Remarks?
select the text and press:
Ctrl + Enter
Portal design: Artsofte
Contact us
Rector's Office
Rector, Dr. Victor Koksharov
Tel. +7 (343) 375-45-03, e-mail: rector@urfu.ru
Vice-Rector for International Relations, Dr. Maxim Khomyakov
Tel. +7 (343) 375-46-27, e-mail: Maksim.Khomyakov@urfu.ru