Title: Evaluating sport events at European level: the Euro 2004

Authors: Carlos Pestana Barros

Addresses: Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, Technical University of Lisbon, Rua Miguel Lupi, 20, 1249–078 Lisbon, Portugal

Abstract: In this paper, we estimate the willingness to pay for a sporting event: the Euro 2004 Soccer Championships that will take place in Portugal in June/July 2004. The estimation is carried out by means of a Tobit regression model. We conclude that there is a small proportion of the population who are prepared to pay for the event, with a declared small amount. The WTP is positively related to the number of times that the individual attends a soccer game during the season and to the education level of the respondent. The WTP is negatively related to the household income, to the declaration that the individual is a fan of the soccer team and to the perception that the event is prestigious for the country. The results give rise to the conclusion that the Euro 2004 is not a Pareto improvement of the public good, since the aggregated willingness-to-pay is lower than the estimated total costs.

Keywords: sports events; evaluation; willingness to pay; Euro 2004; soccer fans; sport management; sport marketing; education level; public good; total costs; Portugal; major sporting events; Europe; economic impact; 2004 UEFA European Football Championship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2006.010570

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2006 Vol.1 No.4, pp.400 - 410

Published online: 01 Aug 2006 *

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