Effects of On-Field Performance on MLB Fan Attendance

Faculty Sponsor

Coleen Wilder

College

Arts and Sciences

Discipline(s)

Business, Data Science

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 5-2022

Abstract

Major League Baseball (MLB) is big business with pre-pandemic revenues exceeding $10 billion. The impact of fan attendance on revenues was evidenced during COVID when revenues dropped below $4 billion. The objective of this research was to explore factors that influence MLB attendance. More specifically, this research looked at what teams were doing on the field and how performance in certain categories influenced fan attendance. A regression analysis, followed by backwards selection, was conducted to develop the simplest model that could be used to explain overall attendance. Various team statistics were evaluated during the model building process. Contrary to popular belief, the number of home runs was not significant in predicting fan attendance. Team data between the years 2015-2019 was used due to irregular attendance caused by the pandemic. The results from this research may be used by league owners to increase revenues but more importantly to increase fan satisfaction. Future research should explore other factors that contribute to fan attendance with the goal of building a model that may be used for predictive purposes.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Abbey Hillman, Accounting, Graduation Year: 2023

Katelyn Bacys, Actuarial Science, Graduation Year: 2022

Frankie Vazquez, Data Science, Graduation Year: 2022

Garrett Wolan, Accounting and Business Analytics, Graduation Year: 2022

Kinan Kudaimi, Sports Management and Finance, Graduation Year: 2022

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