The determinants of standing and seated football attendances : evidence from three Scottish league clubs

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Smart, R. A. and Goddard, John A. (1991) The determinants of standing and seated football attendances : evidence from three Scottish league clubs. Quarterly Economic Commentary, 16 (4). pp. 61-64. ISSN 0306-7866

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of the demand for Scottish Premier League football using regression analysis, differentiating between the determinants of standing and seated attendances. Previous studies of the determinants of football attendance (Bird, 1982; Jennett, 1984; Cairns, 1983, 1987; Peel and Thomas, 1988) have concentrated exclusively on the determinants of aggregate attendance. Such studies therefore do not allow for the fact that the majority of football clubs which provide a choice between seated or standing accommodation effectively supply two quite distinct 'products'. These products differ in terms of both their price and their characteristics (for example, the standard of comfort, the quality of the view, the degree of protection from the weather, and the type of match atmosphere experienced in each). They are also likely to appeal to different categories of supporter (for example by age, sex, or socio-economic background, with young working class males generally more likely to stand on the terraces, and spectators in other groups more likely to choose seats). The need to identify separate demand functions for different types of viewing accommodation is of particular importance given the likelihood that the trend towards the introduction of all-seater stadia by major clubs will gather pace during the 1990s.

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