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Although research on the impacts of the Olympic Games on Athens addressed the impact of the Games on economy, generic tourism, and urban restructuring, there has not been given to date attention on the prospects for sport tourism development in Athens as a result of hosting the Olympics, especially if it is considered that the construction of Olympic facilities was legitimized by the government's intention to use them for sport. To address this omission, the purpose of this study is to draw attention to examining the challenges and potential of post‐Olympic Athens to exploit its Olympic legacy for the development of sport tourism.

A qualitative approach was employed by conducting nine semi‐structured interviews with Athens’ tourism/administrative officials and analyzing them in line with pertinent literature.

Results show that the city's tourism officials respond with ad‐hoc policies in their effort to capitalize on Athens’ Olympic legacy. Consequently, Athens’ potential is constrained by the absence of a comprehensive tourism policy aimed at enriching and diversifying the city's post‐Olympic tourism product. In this context, the study shows that there is limited awareness by the city's tourism administration for sport tourism development and for establishing appropriate coordination mechanisms, which could foster mutually beneficial links between sport and tourism stakeholders. This leaves unexploited the potential for utilizing effectively Athens’ Olympic facilities and destination capitals in developing a competitive sport tourism product mix.

A limitation of the study is that it examines Athens’ sport tourism prospects through the lens of tourism policy. Future studies are needed to examine also sport policy. On a broader level, it is suggested that future research should extend the focus on the study of post‐event leverage to find the best means for fostering post‐Games Olympic tourism from a sustainability perspective.

To redress post‐Olympic Athens’ inertia and associated structural problems that affect its tourism policy, the study presents a framework for the strategic planning and sustainable development of sport tourism in Athens.

The study by examining Athens’ neglected legacy for sport tourism, attempts to synthesize a common ground for sport and tourism development in Olympic cities. This inquiry suggests the need for a broader planning and leveraging framework to extend the study of Olympic tourism in the post‐Games period as it relates to the use of Olympic legacy and post‐Olympic assets, which can, in turn, reveal the conditions for synergistic development of sport and tourism. Also, such an examination may shed light on what and how can be corrected in order to mitigate the sources and consequences of problems, while providing lessons for future Olympic cities. Finally, by focusing on sport tourism as it is induced by the Olympics knowledge can be advanced on how to effectively leverage the Olympic legacy and develop sustainable post‐Olympic tourism products.

This study measures the effect of each of the five senses on arousal, satisfaction and intention to revisit a live racing event. Spectators' arousal was significantly influenced by sights, sounds and smells. Spectators' sense of smell, taste, and touch directly impacted satisfaction. Interestingly, olfactory stimuli had an effect on both arousal and satisfaction. Spectators' arousal had a significant indirect effect on their revisit intention. The study proposes that motorsports marketers make use of olfactory stimuli to provide racing spectators with memorable experiences.

This article examines the applications of RFID technology in the world of sport. It provides the reader with an overview of RFID and its uses in business. The article looks at how RFID can be employed in the games themselves, in sports venues and in sports memorabilia as a means of enhancing the value, enjoyment and security of sports. The author concludes by discussing the importance of this technology for sports marketing and research.

Corporate sports hospitality (CSH) is a relationship marketing tool whereby customers and other stakeholders are invited by a company buying CSH from a club to attend a sports event. The CSH product involves premium seating and optional services such as catering. This industry has been perceived to be in decline, especially in times of economic downturn. The purposes of this paper are a quantification of the CSH industry’s value and the development of a formal CSH management process for both companies and clubs.

A case study from the highest division in Belgian football (soccer) is conducted, involving interviews and quantitative data collection as the primary data source, in addition to secondary data and insights from the literature. As opposed to literature, this paper uses a holistic approach, combining the perspective of the club and the CSH buying company with attention for customers.

CSH returns account for an important share of club revenues (>10%), despite the smaller market compared to the American major sports leagues. Since a club experiences the strongest competitive impact from substitutes and other clubs in the league, and CSH is often managed on an ad hoc base, disposing of a formal management process is crucial for both clubs and companies. For companies buying CSH, not only return on investment but also return on other objectives matters. Moreover, CSH is at least as effective to deepen existing business relationships as to create new ones.

The paper provides clubs and companies with a theoretic background and practical key performance indicators (KPIs) to base their managerial decisions on. Although external validity to other Belgian venue-based sports can reasonably be assumed, translating the findings to other countries or non-venue based sports requires caution.

Little academic research about the CSH industry is available. Specific KPIs to define objectives and measure output, as well as feedback loops for clubs and companies, are developed. The proposed CSH management process follows the same high-level steps, but with different specific actions per actor, leading to a better understanding of similarities and differences of both processes, and a better co-creation of the CSH event.

The addition of products to the core of matches by professional sports teams (PSTs) has received much coverage. However, there has been limited work as to how their stadiums are used to stage non-sporting events. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how clubs in the English Football League (EFL) use their venues to diversify into other markets.

Secondary sources were used to categorise the teams who played in the EFL by: average division turnover, stadium capacity and stadium age. Semi-structured interviews were held with a member of the commercial teams of 21 clubs.

Clubs use their stadiums to supply a range of products and working with partners is commonplace. These products are targeted at a range of stakeholders, such as supporters, the local community and regionally based organisations. In addition to their own efforts, increased geographical coverage for clubs usually develops in three ways: via internal marketing by local organisations who use the facilities, agents who market the stadium for the club and the EFL who market the league/clubs holistically.

The use of a stadium allows PSTs to diversify by providing new products for new markets. In this instance it has led to the development of capabilities in areas such as conferencing, funerals and weddings.

This is one of the first papers to examine the capabilities developed by PSTs that lie outside the staging of matches.

The purpose of this paper is to examine spectator perceptions of service quality at the Formula One (F-1) event in Shanghai by means of Martilla and James’ Importance and Performance Analysis (IPA).

The items were plotted on the four IPA dimensions, including: Concentrate Here; Keep Up the Good Work; Lower Priority; and Possible Overkill.

The results indicated that staff courtesy seems to be the strength of the event. However, concession quality, food prices, and arena accessibility, including restrooms at the Shanghai F-1 event, did not meet spectators’ expectations. In addition, the results suggested that in any spectator sporting event, food consumption helps to create a positive experience. Therefore, IPA revealed that service quality related to concessions, food pricing, and arena accessibility at the Shanghai F-1 are in need of immediate improvement, whereas staff courtesy and race visuals were satisfactory.

The findings will help marketers prioritize certain services and offer strategic direction in effective service provision by highlighting management problems.

To study the spatial layout of urban sports parks, the constraint graph model was used to quantitatively analyze the construction of urban sports parks in China. At the same time, theories on the construction and development of urban sports parks and urban renewal at home and abroad were reviewed. The construction status of urban sports parks in China was systematically studied. Foreign case cities were investigated. Finally, the case cities in our country were discussed. The results showed that in addition to the influence of certain policies and economic factors, the development of sports parks was affected by factors such as urban space development, population size and living distribution, urban culture, regional environmental characteristics and the layout of original sports resources. Therefore, the impact of the above factors should be considered in the development of sports parks and their spatial layout. The layout of the sports park should be balanced to meet the diverse needs of the residents.

Many sport venues utilize digital ticketing, in some instances exclusively. Forced technology adoption among ticket buyers in nonsport contexts, (i.e. airline passengers) has been shown to produce negative responses among consumers. The purpose of the current study is to examine sport consumer response to forced e-ticket adoption.

E-surveys were disseminated to attendees of a major NCAA Division I football conference championship game where digital tickets were required for entry for the first time in event history. Mixed methods were utilized to examine both quantitative and qualitative data from 1,821 respondents.

Among respondents, 29.6% indicated a preference for traditional paper tickets and 48.3% preferred e-tickets, with younger patrons more likely to prefer the digital option. No significant difference related to future consumption was found between those preferring hard tickets and those preferring e-tickets. An analysis of qualitative responses revealed five primary themes for hard ticket preference: (1) ease of use, (2) souvenir, (3) reliability, (4) lack of technology and (5) preference. Five primary themes supporting e-ticket preference were also uncovered: (1) convenience, (2) simplicity, (3) familiarity, (4) paperless and (5) security.

The current study is the first to examine actual sport event consumers in a forced self-service technology environment. Also, no previous studies have explored respondents' preference motivations. The current study is also the first to link both age and future consumption to ticket-type preference.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and consequent economic shutdown have had severe impacts on the tourism industry. Acquiring an understanding of the impacts and ongoing response procedures is crucial to recovery planning. The purpose of this study is to explore the management procedures undertaken by sport tourism stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana, USA, a state that relies heavily on sport tourism for its economic vibrancy.

A constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 high-rank managers in sport tourism organizations.

Continued uncertainty, psychological and financial distress were found to be the main challenges. Contingency planning, adaptability and focus on doable tasks were the core elements of the strategic response plan. Resilience management, particularly social and financial, appeared to be key in the recovery process. A stronger return was predicted with technological advancements and new collaborations. Intra-destination collaboration and creative programs were found to be key in the long-term resilience of the destination.

Findings shed light on the challenges faced, response actions undertaken, and the projected future which helps to understand the stories behind decisions and proposals, identify the gaps, and plan the best possible practices. Recommendations for leveraging sports to revitalize the destinations and help businesses survive the crisis are provided that can guide sport tourism communities on their path to recovery from COVID-19.