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This conceptual article presents a theoretical approach to understanding the atmosphere at sports stadiums. Using the environmental psychology behavioural model proposed by Mehrabian & Russell (1974), and taking into account recent findings in consumer research, we develop a comprehensive framework for investigating this atmosphere. The framework highlights the role of emotions elicited by different stimuli in sports stadiums. We also suggest a number of direct and indirect influences on behavioural outcomes, caused by the emotional reactions and personal predispositions of spectators - influences that are of economic relevance. The proposed framework also forms a starting point for future empirical studies.

This paper aims to develop a scale for stadium atmosphere in the Indian context. This is considered as a key area for sports managers, as stadium attendance contributes toward the teams revenues. Moreover, while the importance of environment is well-established in the marketing literature, stadium atmosphere has received limited attention.

Through qualitative and quantitative studies in five different phases, a 14-item four-dimension stadium atmosphere scale was developed that included physical layout, facility aesthetics, entertainment experience and social interaction.

The stadium atmosphere scale developed in this study demonstrates sound psychometric properties based on various reliability and validity tests as well as scale replications using different samples.

The stadium atmosphere scale developed will be of particular use for sports marketers and management. It could be inferred that the stadium managers could expect high spectator attendance and satisfaction by focusing on stadium atmosphere factors such as the accessibility of seats and allocation of seat spaces, stadium architecture, the game characteristics and the attitudes and behaviors of stadium employees during live games.

The present study addresses a key gap identified in the sports marketing and management area. The study adds to the conceptual understanding of the stadium atmosphere construct and empirically demonstrates the measurement scale for the construct.

Preference analysis was conducted among supporter club members of the German national soccer team. Survey results based on 493 completed questionnaires underline the market potential of official fan loyalty programmes due to a high average willingness to pay and a general preference for cheap and easy to implement 'right of first refusal' benefits for tickets as the main supporters club feature. Adequately designed supporters clubs may present soccer clubs with a new source of income while creating opportunities to improve stadium atmosphere and security.

The perception of sport consumers on peripheral stadium-quality services (PSQS) has evolved after compulsory precautionary measures were imposed on gatherings to alleviate the spread of coronavirus. This study attempts to reassess five principal dimensions of PSQS? Stadium parking, stadium cleanliness, fan control, food services and perceived crowding? through reflecting on the COVID-19 control and prevention measures established during this pandemic. Furthermore, it aims to measure the impact of the multi-dimensional PSQS on spectators' emotions and future attendance intentions.

The purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from spectators watching the live matches of cricket at the stadium. A total of 680 responses were collected from spectators and uploaded to the measurement model. The covariance-based structural equation modeling technique was used subsequently for analysis purposes.

The study found a positive impact of the stadium cleanliness and fan control services on spectators' happiness and excitement emotions; and a negative impact of stadium parking, stadium cleanliness, fan control and perceived crowding on their anger, anxiety and dejection emotions. The happiness and excitement emotions of the spectators induced them to visit again at the stadium. Of all the peripheral quality services, the study found only stadium cleanliness service indirectly effect spectators' revisit intentions through excitement emotion as a mediator.

The incorporation of the safety procedures through PSQS can reduce spectators' negative emotions especially when they face psychological fear of the pandemic. These services work as a stimulus for spectators that directly affect their organism (emotions) and indirectly affect their response (attendance intentions).

This study contributed to sports research by novelty evaluating sport consumers' perception of the PSQS after incorporating COVID-19 preventive measures. It empirically examines the effect PSQS on spectators' emotions and re-visits intentions.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse simultaneously the effect of attendance at the stadium on the size of the TV audience, taking into account the effect of price and uncertainty of outcome hypothesis on both the TV audience and stadium attendance. The paper assumes that a home-team effect exists and influences potential spectators’ decision to go to the stadium or to stay at home.

The data set consists of all 228 matches broadcast live and on open air from the Brazilian League across the seasons 2013–2015. The econometric approach of the present paper is based on three simultaneous equations through the Three-Stage Least Square estimator. This method is chosen in order to avoid endogeneity between ticket prices and live attendance and, consequently, with the television audience, too.

This work finds a correlation between TV audience and attendance at the stadium. However, it has been demonstrated that those matches that are more expensive have a larger TV audience. Scheduling and UO appear to be relevant for TVs and clubs. Scheduling is relevant, as weekend matches have a smaller TV audience but higher attendance at the stadium.

The findings indicate that Brazilian football clubs should find optimal prices for matches in order to maximise both TV audience and attendance.

Analysing simultaneously the effect of attendance at the stadium on the size of the TV audience, taking into account the effect of price on all three of these variables, is new. Another novel aspect is the use of data on audience size to observe a possible substitution effect. The authors also distinguish between home and away matches, assuming that a home-team effect exists and influences potential spectators’ decision to go to the stadium or to stay at home.

Social television (Social TV) viewing of live sports events is an emerging trend. The realm of transformative service research (TSR) envisions that every service consumption experience must lead to consumer well-being. Currently, a full appreciation of the well-being factors obtained through Social TV viewing is lacking. This study aims to gain a holistic understanding of the concept of digital sports well-being obtained through live Social TV viewing of sports events.

Focus group interviews were used to collect data from the 40 regular sports viewers, and the qualitative data obtained is analyzed thematically using NVivo 12. A post hoc verification of the identified themes is done to narrow down the most critical themes.

The exploration helped understand the concept of digital sports well-being (DSW) obtained through live Social TV sports spectating and identified five critical themes that constitute its formation. The themes that emerged were virtual connectedness, vividness, uncertainty reduction, online disinhibition and perceived autonomy. This study defines the concept and develops a conceptual model for DSW.

This study adds to the body of knowledge in TSR, transformative sport service research, digital customer engagement, value co-creation in digital platforms, self-determination theory and flow theory. The qualitative study is exploratory, with participants’ views based on a single match in one particular sport, and as such, its findings are restrained by the small sample size and the specific sport. To extend this study’s implications, empirical research involving a larger and more diversified sample involving multiple sports Social TV viewing experiences would help better understand the DSW concept.

The research provides insights to Social TV live streamers of sporting events and digital media marketers about the DSW construct and identifies the valued DSW dimensions that could provide a competitive advantage.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the exploration is the first attempt to describe the concept of DSW and identify associated themes.

As an exploratory study, the purpose of this paper is to examine the underlying motivations for attending soccer games.

Attendees at two soccer games in Athens, Greece were surveyed about their frequency of attendance at soccer games and their attitudes toward soccer. In total, 252 people from five randomly selected sections of the stadiums participated in the survey.

The results indicate that there are three major motivations – emotional excitement, socialization, and soccer atmospherics – and two identity salience factors – ardent soccer fans and rational soccer fans – for attending soccer games. The most important factor for attendance is being an ardent soccer fan closely followed by the emotional excitement factor. Among the demographic factors considered, only gender significantly affects soccer game attendance.

In contrast to previous studies that are somewhat descriptive, this research explicitly introduces factors related to social identity theory and attempts to predict soccer game attendance on the basis of a scale of factors that focus on the major motivations for attendance of soccer games, identity salience reasons, and demographic factors. The inclusion of social identity theory as a factor in the attendance of soccer games is a major contribution of this study. Contrary to most of the earlier studies, this study showed that the socialization factor is not related to attendance at soccer games.

It has become common for academics and sports marketing professionals to study and explain the heterogeneity and complexity of sports spectators' behaviours and attitudes, with numerous works addressing this topic But these surveys are more about fans of professional sports clubs (soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc) who attend regular season games in their favourite teams' home stadium or arena. To our knowledge, very few studies have been conducted into spectators of national teams. It is these spectators who are of the focus of this paper.

Public debates and scholarly literature on football fandom are often characterised by generalisation and lacking differentiation. The changing ethnography of fans, affected by the rapid commercialisation and internationalisation of the game, reinforces the demand for contemporary classification criteria and fan typologies that take the complexity and heterogeneity of fans into account and draw a more differentiated picture of fans and sub-groups.

Based on the grounded theory methodology and a systematic literature review on stakeholder theory, stakeholder classification criteria and football fandom, the authors conduct and analyse 14 semi-structured expert interviews with fan managers employed by German professional football clubs. Building on the analysis, the authors identify, present and discuss ten contemporary criteria and five corresponding typologies for the classification of football fans.

The grounded theory analysis suggests that football fans can be characterised according to ten classification criteria. Building on the analysis, the authors derive five fan typologies that differ in their characteristics along the continua of the identified criteria. Typologies comprise (1) active fans, (2) consuming fans, (3) event fans, (4) corporate fans and (5) passive followers.

The paper enlarges prior knowledge on the behavioural and attitudinal characteristics of fans as individuals and adds knowledge regarding relationships within fan groups, and regarding formal and non-formal relations between fans and clubs. The results provide scholars with a framework for further scientific investigation and practitioners with a concept for a more sophisticated and differentiated approach to managing fan relations.

While research on brand identity is abundant, an area that is less explored is whether an organisation’s communication about itself directly translates to key stakeholders’ perception of that organisation. The purpose of this study is to explore whether certain Web-based communication strategies are more effective in aligning organisations’ communicated identity (CI) with their perceived identity (PI).

This study uses a mixed-methods design in the context of professional football league clubs. The CI was determined through an analysis of the clubs websites (n = 20), and PI was investigated through interviews with spectators (n = 244). Both CI and PI were operationalised using image categories.

Three main strategies of identity communication are observed. The results show that the strategy focusing on product-related categories leads to discrepancy. WBC with non-product related categories and benefits shows better CI-PI alignment. The study also found that clubs emphasising their CI as local, engaged in community and family-friendly are more likely to achieve greater alignment.

The quality of the brand identity depends on the discrepancy or congruence of brand image categories. Best practices are observed for brands having largely updated WBC of all categories, attitudes and engagement in the community.

The interrelated nature of brand identity communication and perception makes it necessary to empirically test how the two may be bridged with one. The developed concepts provide insight into which strategies better contribute to a consistent, coherent brand identity.