Effects of professional baseball home fans’ perceptions of community on their perceptions of stadium spaces

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine effects of professional baseball home fans' perception of the community on their recognition of stadium spaces. Methods The subjects of the survey were home fans of baseball. A total of 600 questionnaire(100 fans each team: DOOSAN, LG, SK, LOTTE, HANHWA and KIA) were collected and 510 copies were used as the final analysis data. Collected data was processed by using SPSS 21.0 program. T-test, one-way ANOVA, correction analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted to test hypothesis. Results There were significant differences of perceptions on community such as perceptions on sense of belonging; favored teams, perceptions on active involvement; gender and favored teams, perceptions on pride of the home town; gender, favored teams and glasses for viewing, and perceptions on classification; educational level and favored teams. There were significant differences of perceptions on stadium spaces such as perceptions on historicity; favored teams and viewing experience, perceptions on authenticity; favored teams and viewing experience, and perceptions on symbolism; age, favored teams and glasses for viewing. Among home fans' perceptions of their community, sense of belonging and pride of the home town had positive effects on their perceptions on historicity among perceptions of stadium spaces, while perceptions of classification had negative effects on them; sense of belonging and pride of the home town had positive effects on both perceptions of authenticity and symbolism. Conclusions The findings indicate that there is a close relationship between the community and professional baseball stadiums, and it is necessary to commonly enhance sense of belonging and pride of the home town for the community in order to promote positive perceptions on stadiums.

A Study on the Community Contributions of Professional Sports Team by Analyzing the Relationship between Regional Identity, Sense of Community, and Team Identity

“…또 한 각기 다른 지역에서 다른 스포츠가 사랑을 받는 이유는 특정스 포츠와 해당 지역이 정체성을 공유하기 때문이며 (Heere & James, 2007), 스포츠팬들이 자신과 같은 정체성을 나누기 위한 장으로서 스포츠 경기장을 찾고, 자신의 정체성을 다른 사람들과 공유하는 매체가 바로 스포츠라는 것은 일반적인 사실로 인정하고 있기 때문 이다 (Anderson & Stone, 1981). (Cho, 2003;Choi et al, 2010;Heere & James, 2007;Hwang & Kim, 2004;Kim, 2006;Lee & Kwon, 2019;Robinson & Trail, 2005;Ryoo, 2002;Shin, 2006;Warner & Dixon, 2011). 특히, Shin(2006) Community Contributions of Professional Sports Team (Chavis & Wandersman, 1990)을 바탕으로, 지역 공동체 구성원들의 사회적 결속과 관련된 집합의식으로 정의되는 공동체의식 (Glynn, 1981) 을 프로스포츠와 결속시킨 연구는 양적으로나 질적으로 매우 부족 한 현실이다.…”