As sports fans, we are a niche market. Think about it. Sports teams and leagues do not advertise to anybody else other than you. It does no good when Fanatics fan apparel tries to attract a market of non-sports fans. Therefore, all means of income for sports teams and the leagues they exist in hinge on the buying behavior of sports fans, exclusively. Fans are the ones who pay admission, buy concessions, and purchase merchandise and memorabilia. Fans are the ones exposed to team sponsorships and advertising. Sports fans are the ones who provide the majority portion of money that fuels the business and value of the sports industry.
Guido D’Elia is a consultant at gconsultants, helping sports departments with marketing and promotions. He says, “Fan bases are becoming an element of the game. It is clear the advantage a fan base can make for you if they’re into it. Home-field advantage is critical, and I think that revenue is also something [that’s important] because it is getting harder and harder to get fans to come to games.” Ipsos reported that Americans spend over $20 billion annually on admission fees to sporting events, sports equipment, souvenirs, and other sports related expenses. Fans account for six out of every 10 dollars spent on game tickets. According to the Statista Digital Market Outlook, published in 2023, the revenue from the sports events tickets market in the United States surpassed $14 billion in 2022, with this figure forecast to reach $15 billion in 2024. This increases the value even more of every occupied stadium seat, as well as the attendee’s overall experience.
“[The fan experience] is the key to profitability,” says Dr. Stephen Carlson, Professor of Business at Piedmont University. “If you don’t have their commitment and their energy and their participation, you’ve got a failing business. So that’s why the sports fan comes first.”
Sports fans require positive fan experiences for them to want to return to games. “Marketing to the fan base and creating a game day atmosphere is no longer up to chance,” Guido D’Elia said. “It’s by design. Everybody has to work at it.”
For teams and organizations to retain their wealth over the course of a season, they need to continue to sell as many seats as possible week by week. Returning fans are like a gold mine that organizations can go back to consistently.
“There’s a revenue component as well,” says D’Elia. “Getting people to go to games on a regular basis is no easy feat. Most college stadiums were built for smaller [numbers of] people who are generally oversold; we have too many seats. There are lines for everything…and it’s an all-day experience.”
For any fan to attend a sports event, it takes up the time of that fan’s entire day, and in some cases their weekend. For example, to attend a college football game in-person, a sports fan would need to take time out of their day to travel to the venue, eat food (likely before the event), find their seat before the game, sit through pre-game festivities, sit through the competition for three to four hours, exit the stadium and travel back home. The fan experience is the key to whether that sports fan has a good or bad day at the event, not just the competition’s outcome.
“It all revolves around the game day experience,” says D’Elia. “The thing I think people often overlook is that what we really have to sell…the basic element that’s at sale here is the common experience that you can get nowhere else. You can stay at home and watch the game…but unless you go to the game, you don’t get the experience that would be akin to [being there in person] …There’s just something about being together with people with a common purpose and a common bond. That is achievable in not too many places.”
The fan experience has become the backbone of the sports industry. The in-game experience has evolved to include music, in-game promotions, giveaways, games and overall staff interaction. A negative experience regarding poor planning can spoil the chances of the fan ever returning to another game. With sports fans’ attention spans shortening and critiques becoming even more tedious, the fan experience is truly everything.
