Abstract
This study estimates a demand curve for per-match attendance in the English Premier Football League (EPL), the highest level of professional association football (soccer) in England. An emphasis is placed on the effect of aggressive play on attendance demand. Aggressive play is measured by fouls and cards accumulated by a team during each season. The results indicate that aggressive play by EPL teams has a significant effect on attendance and that this effect varies with team quality and the type of infraction. An increase in normal fouls by the home team appears to decrease attendance for the best teams and increase attendance for the worst teams. However, an increase in yellow-card fouls has the opposite effect on attendance. Interestingly, red cards given for violent play do not seem to be related to EPL per-match attendance, suggesting that fans do not have preferences for seeing violent play.
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The author thanks Megan Dorman, Brittany Causey, Andrea Maloy, and Ashley Hanisko for excellent research assistance.
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Jewell, R.T. (2011). Aggressive Play and Demand for English Premier League Football. In: Jewell, R. (eds) Violence and Aggression in Sporting Contests. Sports Economics, Management and Policy, vol 4. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6630-8_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6630-8_8
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