Appraisal of measuring economic impact of sport events

Abstract

Sport events are big business, attracting not only a large number of participants, spectators and sponsorships, but also wide media coverage. The hosting of sport events have led to increased rivalry between nations, regions and cities. Sport events range from mega events, such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA Soccer World Cup, to endurance events, including the Tour de France and the Comrades ultra-marathon, and even small-scale events, such as cricket and football matches. Since an event creates some spending stimulus, it exerts an impact on the local economy. Researchers worldwide have attempted to quantify this impact of sport events for a number of years, which has resulted in an extensive body of literature on the impact of sport events. This has led to the rationale for this paper, that is, to provide an overview of the research that has been conducted over the past two decades (since 1990), on the economic impact of sport events, with special focus on the methodological issues pertaining to measuring the impact of sport events. The literature is not unanimous regarding the measurement of spending, or which spending to include. Neither is there consensus about which method to use in the quantification of the impact.