Sport Stadium Atmosphere: Formative and Reflective Indicators for Operationalizing the Construct

Abstract

This article reports the findings of an investigation into the atmosphere in stadiums during live team sports. Experiencing this special atmosphere represents an essential part of the total service provided by the organizers of sport events. However, existing research into the concept of atmosphere focuses on the retail environment. Our first step was therefore to define sport stadium atmosphere as a theoretical construct, drawing on theories from environmental psychology. We then developed a mimic (multiple indicator-multiple cause) model to measure the construct. To specify the mimic model, we generated and selected formative measures by means of a delphi study (N= 20), qualitative expert interviews (N= 44), and an indicator sort task (N= 34). The results indicate that various physical and social aspects of the stadium environment are causal indicators of sport stadium atmosphere. Following this, we conducted phenomenological interviews with spectators at sport events (N= 5) to identify typical affective responses to stadium environment (representing the reflective indicators of the mimic model). These interviews revealed that fans’ experience of stadium environment is characterized by high levels of arousal and pleasure. In addition to our findings, the mimic model developed in this study represents a useful tool for future research into sport stadium atmosphere.

The influence of stadium environment on attendance intentions in spectator sport

“…The results from this study are also connected with Uhrich and Benkenstein's (2010) model of sport stadium atmosphere, in particular their concept of atmosphere, as both studies share the framework of environmental psychology (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974). Our finding that team loyalty significantly moderates how stadium environment influences one's desire to stay and intention to attend the place imply that the atmosphere factors can potentially interact with predisposition variables.…”

Olympic Experiences: the Significance of Place

“…Our study responded to this gap in the literature by assessing the influence of place on the experiences of sport event spectators. This type of research is important (Kaplanidou, 2006) and findings that highlight the emotional dimension of sport venues (Uhrich & Benkenstein, 2010). The significance of place identity noted here corresponds with research that finds "spectating at the Olympic Games creates and reinforces a sense of belonging" (Shipway & Kirkup, 2011, p. 136) and it reaffirms that people become attached to places that are personally meaningful (Twigger-Ross & Uzzell, 1996).…”

“…Some of the early work by geographers adopted a phenomenological approach when discussing distinctions between space and place (Relph, 1976;Tuan, 1974) while environmental psychology has provided theoretical explanations of the interdependencies between environmental characteristics and human perceptions, emotions, and behaviors (Uhrich & Benkenstein, 2010). Interest in operationalizing environmental stimuli has been accompanied by attempts to measure the dimen sionality of place attachment as a construct (Lalli, 1992;McAndrew, 1998).…”

“…This allows recognition of key phenomena such as atmosphere: "the totality of emotionally appealing environmental stimuli in a defined place" (Wochnowski, 1996, p. 181). According to Uhrich and Benkenstein (2010), excitement induced by the atmosphere in a stadium has positive effects on satisfaction and repatronage intentions. The need to include these affective dimensions in research about sport event experiences is advocated in a study by Theodorakis, Koustelios, Robinson and Barlas (2009), in which the authors acknowledge that their work:…”

Exploitation touristique des stades des métropoles d’accueil des Coupes du monde de football (1994-2014)

“…Ceux chargés d'histoire deviennent des lieux emblématiques et acquièrent une centralité physique et fonctionnelle (Devisme, 2000) métropolitaine en accueillant, outre des événements majeurs sportifs ou non, des visites touristiques magnifiant les héritages sportifs, identitaires et culturels locaux (Ramshaw et Gammon, 2005) (Roult et Lefebvre, 2010), d'optimiser leur ambiance (Uhrich et Benkenstein, 2010), d'accroître leurs services lors des matchs et des jours sans matchs (Desbordes et Richelieu, 2011), d'encourager leur patrimonialisation (Ramshaw et al, 2013) et d'augmenter leur numérisation (Helleu et Desbordes, 2013). La contribution des stades aux dynamiques métropolitaines de tourisme sportif pendant et après un méga-événement sportif est alors en jeu.…”