Data Used for Revenue
Not only do sporting events get a massive engagement through media, but in-person sales also generate a large amount of revenue. The average crowd size for an NFL game in 2022 was 69,442 people (Smith, 2023). To guarantee sports fans will be more likely to attend games, it is vital to set prices at an ideal price. Pricing is very important because it needs to bring in profit and be realistic for fans, the ideal price of a ticket can be found through data.
Researchers have created a tool to optimize sports ticket prices for both management and fans, in order to gain a better understanding of what people are willing to pay for sports tickets. This innovative approach is designed to improve the management of ticket prices and make them more attractive to fans, while also ensuring that they are fair and reasonable. This research was explored through Manufacturing & Service Operations Management by co-authors Robert Easley, John W. Berry Sr. Department Chair and Professor of Information Technology, Analytics and Operations at the University of Notre Dame, and Ovunc Yilmaz, assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder (Wampler, 2022).
The research team collaborated with an NCAA Division I football program and analyzed its ticket sales data (Greene et al., 2017). Through a careful review of fans’ purchasing behaviors and demographics, the researchers investigated two primary sales channels: season tickets and single-game tickets. By scrutinizing the audience segments within each channel, the research team was able to identify and differentiate between different groups of fans based on their purchasing patterns and preferences. This approach allowed for a more nuanced understanding of how fans engage with the ticketing process and how the program can better tailor its ticketing strategies to meet their needs.
Through this research, season ticket holders were broken down into three categories: big donors, the public, and employees. General ticket sales were also broken down into three categories: donors, alumni, and parents.
An unexpected discovery from the analysis of customer segment data was that as the number of available seats in a given section dwindled below a certain threshold, fans appeared to be less interested in purchasing seats in that section. This trend may suggest that fans do not perceive the remaining seats, which are typically located on the fringes of the section, to be a good value for their cost. Moreover, the research uncovered a divide among fans in terms of their price sensitivity: some fans prioritized watching the game from the best seats, regardless of the cost, while others were content with watching the game from the cheapest seats available. These insights shed light on the complex factors that influence fans’ ticket purchasing behaviors and can inform more targeted and effective ticket pricing strategies (Wampler, 2022).
