The Economic Impact of $ports

Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to critically evaluate the economic impact or liability that a major sporting event, and/or an individual sports team can have on the metropolitan area involved. Choose a major sporting event or a professional sports franchise and locate commentary and data that analyzes the positive and/or negative effects of a major sporting event or sports franchise on its community, state or country.

Examples of Sporting Events or Franchises

Or choose a specific Sports Franchise. For example: Minnesota Twins; Minnesota Wild; Timberwolves;
New York Yankees; Miami Dolphins or the Boston Celtics, etc.

Final Project

You are the Marketing Manager for your chosen Sporting Event or Sports Franchise. It is your job to develop a brochure that will promote the economic benefits of your Event to a potential host City/Country. If you choose a Sports Team, you will develop a brochure that promotes the economic value of your team to the community, as part of a marketing plan to support the construction of a new sports facility or stadium.

You will need to find at least 4 sources (books, magazine, journal or newspaper articles). Two of the sources should be from Trade Publications. You will locate articles in Trade Publications when you search the database, Business Source Premier.

Beginning Your Research

1. Locate and/or Identify an appropriate Subject Heading (Topic) for your Research

As an example, this could be one of the terms listed above. A major Sporting Event or a major Sports Franchise or Sports Team.

2. Identify the Keyword(s) you need to use to relate them to your Main Sports Event.

Recommended Keywords to use to relate to your Main Sports Event or Franchise.

Key Reference Sources and Books

Finding Articles from Magazines and Trade Publications

To locate articles that discuss the economic aspects or impact of your Sporting Event or your Sports Franchise, you will need to combine your specific Sports Event or Sports Team with one of the keywords listed above:

(For example: World Series AND economic aspects OR economic impact)

The most appropriate databases to use in locating this kind of information are linked below.

Recommended Databases

Expanded Academic ASAP or Student Resource in Context
Using Expanded Academic, allows you to search by Subject, for example "World Cup Soccer", and to drill down to specific articles related to: Advertising, Contracts, Economic Aspects, Forecast & Trends, Marketing, Market Size and Media Coverage. In Expanded Academic, click on Browse Subject link in the orange banner. In Student Resource Center, click on Subject Guide in the light blue banner. Type in your topic and click on Subdivisions.

• Conduct a Subject Guide Search in Expanded Academic, using any of the following Subjects: Stadiums; Sports Franchises; Sports Facilities; or Sports Sponsorship.
• Click on Subdivisions. This will bring up a list of subheadings to your main topic. Depending on your Subject, you will be able to view articles that deal specifically advertising, economic aspects, economic policy, marketing, prices and rates, public opinion, public relations, etc.

Business Source Premier or Academic Search Premier
Business Source Premier will provide you with articles from trade publications and Academic Search Premier will provide you with Scholarly/Academic articles.

Sample Search in Business Source Premier:
world cup AND economic aspects = 67 hits (18 trade publications)

Sample Search in Academic Search Premier:
world cup AND economic aspects = 37 hits (4 academic journal articles)

Newsstand

(St. Louis Cardinals AND economic impact = 46 hits)

(Minnesota Vikings AND economic impact = 2 hits)
Since this search only found two articles, try changing the keyword to investment.

(Minnesota Vikings AND investment = 106 hits)

NOTE: This search will bring up articles that present a negative perspective on your team as well. As the Marketing Director, it is your job to identify and retrieve information that you can use to promote your team to the community.

After Completing Your Research, Buy some Peanuts and Crackerjacks
This interactive web site deals with the economics of professional sports to see how smart you are when it comes to money and sports. There is also a section on how professional sports teams spend their money, why ticket prices are so high, and other issues.