145
Sport Management Review, 2000, 3, 145–162
© 2000 SMAANZ
Repeat Attendance as a Function of
Involvement, Loyalty, and the Sportscape
Across Three Football Contexts
Brad Hill
B. Christine Green
Griffith University
Effects of the sportscape as well as personal attachment to sport and team
were studied in a sample of 530 spectators at three rugby league stadia.
Two spectator segments were identified at each venue: those who came to
support the home team, and those who did not. Each venue served as a
proxy for a different level of competition: home of a winning team in the
top league (ANZ Stadium), home of a losing team in the top league (Carrara
Stadium), and home of a minor league team (Pizzey Park). Hierarchical
regressions tested the effects of personal attachment and experience of the
sportscape on future attendance intentions. Psychological involvement with
the sport of rugby league was a significant predictor of future attendance
motivation for supporters of the home team regardless of context, but loyalty
to the home team was only a significant predictor for supporters of the
home team at ANZ Stadium. Perceptions of the sportscape improved
prediction of future attendance intentions for spectators supporting the home
team in each of the three venues, but the specific sportscape elements that
best represented that effect were different in each case. For spectators not
supporting the home team at Pizzey Park and at Carrara Stadium,
perceptions of the sportscape did not enhance prediction of future attendance
intentions. It is argued that the spectator’s experience of a game needs to
be understood in terms of the characteristics of fanship that he or she brings
to the event, as well as in terms of the particular expectations that are
associated with different competition contexts.
The authors are with the School of Marketing and Management at Griffith University, PMB
50 Gold Coast Mail Centre, Queensland 9726, Australia. E-mail for Brad Hill:
Brad.Hill@mailbox.gu.edu.au