Team Performance, Market Characteristics, and Attendance of Major League Baseball : A Panel Data Analysis

A panel data analysis procedure was used to differentiate the effects of selected team attributes and market characteristics on attendance in Major League Baseball in addition to that of winning percentage. An econometric model was established in the analysis to empirically project the attendance potential determined by these selected variables. The results suggested that: (a) size of county population was a significant predictor for attendance potential in the major metropolitan cities in addition to winning percentage; (b) demand to admission cost was inelastic, while demand to the cost of "sport extensions" products was elastic; (c) presence of a major professional sport team in the same market would decrease attendance potential in Major League Baseball; and (d) population growth in certain age groups could serve as a long-term predictor for the improvement of attendance ratio to the capacity of stadium. Other findings and their implications to attendance of Major League Baseball were also presented in this study