Suchergebnisse

Qualifying for and participating in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) is associated with generating large revenue flows. The fear of the football associations, some journalists and fans is that a permanent financial and sporting imbalance will be created between clubs qualifying for the UCL and the remaining clubs. This paper analyses the consequences of the UCL on the national championship in the German "Bundesliga". The first section shows a review of economic and sporting trends in the Bundesliga for the 1980-1997 period. Also main changes in the domestic championship are reviewed. In second section an analysis of the UCL with (a) regard to competitive balance and (b) with regard to general balance will be undertaken. An interesting question is whether clubs qualifying for the UCL differ from the other teams. Especially the question whether competitive balance changes when there is an imbalance in the financial situation of the clubs (enforced by the UCL) will be analyzed. The third section describes the regulatory mechanisms of the German Bundesliga like revenue sharing and the licensing system. -- UEFA ; Champions League ; Competitive Balance ; Bundesliga ; Germany

The controversy around the breakaway European Super League, set to conquer the UEFA Champions League, and the surrounding antitrust proceedings revive the academic discussion about the monopoly power of sport-internal governing bodies (like the UEFA), the justification for and limits of their powers, and potential abuses of their power. Against this background, we discuss how much monopoly is unavoidable in premier-level European football and how its powers can be limited and, thus, scope and incentives for power abuse may be reduced. We particularly find that championship management can be periodically assigned to third-parties (like the Super League organizers) by tender procedures, thus, creating a periodical competition for the market, fueling innovation incentives and strengthening the influence of fans' preferences.

Using the data of the 1996 Olympic Games, this paper analyzes the economic impact of a mega‐sporting event. Earlier studies are extended in several ways. First, monthly rather than quarterly data are employed. Second, the impact is analyzed for 16 different sectors. Third, we use a nonparametric approach to flexibly isolate employment effects. Hardly any evidence for a persistent shift in the aftermath of or the preparation for the Olympic Games is supported. We find significant positive employment effects exclusively during the Olympic Games. These short‐term effects are concentrated in the sectors of "retail trade,""accommodation and food services," and "arts, entertainment, and recreation." (JEL H54, R12, L83)

This study analyses the sports infrastructure of Hamburg, Germany, from the residents' perspective. Empirical evidence is provided for the Sports Place Theory developed by BALE (2003) using a micro-level dataset of 1,319 sports facilities, which is merged with highly disaggregated data on population, socio-demographic characteristics and land values. In line with the theory, small and medium facilities on average are found to have catchment areas ranging from 1,000 to 2,500m. Similarly, large facilities carry out services within an area of up to 5,000m. Based on implicit travel costs, locations' endowment of sports infrastructure is captured by potentiality variables, while accounting for natural and unnatural barriers. Given potential demand, central areas are found to be relatively underprovided with a sports infrastructure compared to peripheral areas where opportunity cost in the form of price of land is lower. The determinants of spatial distribution vary systematically across types of sports facilities. Publicly provided open sports fields and sport halls tend to be concentrated in areas of relatively low income which is in line with their social infrastructure character, emphasized by local authorities. In contrast, there is a clear tendency for market allocated tennis facilities to follow purchasing power. Areas with higher proportions of foreigners are subject to relatively lower provision of a sports infrastructure, which contradicts the stated ambitions of planning authorities. To meet the implicit call for action, detailed maps of relative supply indicating privileged and disadvantaged areas offer useful guidance. -- Sports Facilities ; Sports Geography ; Public Infrastructure