Sports‐led Tourism, Spatial Displacement, and Hotel Demand

Abstract

We analyze the relationship between professional sports events and concerts held in LA's Staples Center and nearby hotel performance. Government‐led economic redevelopment projects often envision sports facilities as tourist magnets. Little evidence exists supporting links between sporting events and hotel demand. An empirical analysis exploiting exogenous daily variation in the timing of games and concerts from 2002 to 2017 shows a small positive impact on room revenue at hotels within one mile and larger room revenue decrease at hotels located one to 4 miles away. The overall impact on hotel room revenue and rooms rented was not positive. Nearby hotel room rates increased during NBA and NHL work stoppages. The city granted four new hotels built very near the arena exemptions from occupancy taxes for 20–25 years; these exemptions reduced hotel tax revenues by a minimum of $4.5 million annually and may not have been needed to spur new hotel development. (JEL H26, H71, Z28)

Do Hotels Benefit from Hosting IIHF World Championships?

“…Th e same eff ect was analyzed by Coates and Humphreys (2001) with the identifi cation of no signifi cant eff ect. In studies of Chikish et al (2017) and Chikish et al (2019), the main focus is on the hotel performance of the Los Angeles hotel market connected to the hosting of sports events in Staples Center. During the games, only hoteliers located close (in range of 1 mile) to the Staples Center benefi ted from these.…”

Team Visibility and City Travel: Evidence From the UEFA Champions' League Random Draw

“…The effects after the event are small and sometimes negative (as after winter games in Lapland: Falk & Vieru, 2020). Chikish et al (2019) use NHL and NBA unexpected lockouts as natural experiments to study the effect of sports matches on hotel occupancy around a large sports arena in L.A. Their results indicate that these Residualized arrivals in January-June on routes across cities taking part to the Champions' League group phase in the following September-December (1998-2010. Notes: There is one observation per route, number of arrivals is the average on the 2 directions.…”

The Amenity Value of Sports Facilities: Evidence From the Staples Center in Los Angeles

“…The Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, California, represents one sports facility for which the value to local/nearby residents has not been established. The Staples Center opened in 1999 and is the most intensely utilized professional sports venue in the United States (Chikish et al, 2019b). The arena is home to multiple professional sports teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, and the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National NBA.…”