Search Results (8)

The impact of sporting events on local economies and their spatial distribution is a topic of active policy debate. This study adds to the discussion by examining granular cellphone location data to assess the spillover effects of Major League Baseball (MLB) games in a major US city. Focusing on the 2019 season, we explore granular geospatial patterns in mobility and consumer spending on game days versus non-game days in the Saint Louis region. Through density-based clustering and hotspot analysis, we uncover distinct spatiotemporal signatures and variations in visitor affluence across different teams. This study uses features like game day characteristics, location data (latitude and longitude), business types, and spending data. A significant finding is that specific spatial clusters of economic activity are formed around the stadium, particularly on game days, with multiple clusters identified. These clusters reveal a marked increase in spending at businesses such as restaurants, bars, and liquor stores, with revenue surges of up to 38% in certain areas. We identified a significant change in spending patterns in the local economy during games, with results varying greatly across teams. Notably, the XGBoost model performs best, achieving a test R² of 0.80. The framework presented enhances the literature at the intersection of urban economics, sports analytics, and spatial modeling while providing data-driven actionable insights for businesses and policymakers. Full article

The buildings that house the events, which serve as icons of this most famous sporting event, must now be sustainable as well. Stadiums, arenas, gathering places, and athlete communities are all changing from expressions of architectural brilliance to instances of sustainable environments, built to last long after concluding the event and to aid in the redevelopment of the metropolitan areas that host them. The building business is one of the most environmentally destructive in the world since it directly affects how raw materials are used, and how they are determined to be used during their entire existence. This sector, however, is still in the early stages of transition from a linear to a circular economy. To minimize total resource use and landfill trash, business models must be updated to incorporate novel concepts and cutting-edge services. According to this approach, “deconstruction” plays a crucial role in the circularity of structures. It serves as a sustainable substitute for traditional demolition, which is generally an arbitrary and destructive process that, although being quicker and less expensive, typically produces a substantial amount of garbage. On this line, the goal of this research is to revisit the Olympic Games hosting cities, mainly London and Rio de Janeiro, and examine the possibility of the demolition of built infrastructure in the Olympics and to provide methods for minimizing its effects on the urban environment. The research paper aims to make it easier to implement circular economy strategies for buildings by outlining the key principles that must be followed throughout the design and planning process regardless of the kind of construction system or material employed and by recommending deconstruction as a sustainable alternative to demolition. By collaborating with the corporate, academic, and research sectors, we can further emphasize the sharing of information. Full article

Major sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, can harm air quality due to the construction of large stadiums and other sporting facilities, the transportation of athletes and spectators, and the consumption of energy and resources. To successfully host the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese government has taken measures to improve air quality in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, such as limiting car use, closing polluting businesses, and increasing clean energy. Whether these measures have effectively improved the air quality in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and whether they have had a sustained impact are the concerns of this study. In this study, based on air quality statistics for 24 Chinese cities from 2014–2022, including 2592 observations, we investigated the impact of the Beijing Winter Olympics on the air quality in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region using the difference-in-difference (DID) method. Our empirical findings indicate that the Beijing Winter Olympics significantly impacted the air quality in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. We observed a 25% reduction in the air quality index (AQI) and a 28% reduction in the levels of PM_2.5, holding all other factors constant. Trend analysis further suggests that the Beijing Winter Olympics contributed to the region’s long-term trend of air quality improvement. We performed a series of robustness tests, all indicating the reliability of our basic conclusions. In addition, the heterogeneity analysis shows a significant effect of the pollution level and the distance from the capital on the effectiveness of air quality improvement, while economic development had no significant impact. Our findings have important implications for policymakers and other stakeholders interested in improving air quality. The significant improvements from the Beijing Winter Olympics suggest that implementing similar initiatives in other regions may also have positive effects. Full article

City marathons have evolved and grown exponentially in type and popularity, in their managerial complexity, and in terms of their financial impact on their host cities and the attraction of corporate sponsors. Most of the research on city marathons has focused on evaluating their broad economic, urban, tourist, social, sporting, and symbolic effects on host cities. However, less attention has been paid to analyzing key strategic decisions that could account for the evolution and growth of specific marathons and their influences on their management and success. This article, which addresses the cases of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and the Marathon Valencia Trinidad Alfonso, examines those key strategic decisions that have been taken from their inaugural first editions to present and how effective they have been as regards the management and success of both races. Results show that the international success of both events –in terms of sporting participation, performance, and economic impact– is closely related to critical key decisions taken to improve the design and management of the event; the synergies between the political, business and sporting spheres that the organizational leadership of both races has favored their implementation and, as a consequence, the support received from sponsors. This factor has not only provided both races with financial stability, but it has also contributed to improving how both marathons are managed. Full article

The prospects of China’s sports sector hinge on how sports cities can thrive sustainably in the context of the new global pandemic, unlocking consumer potential and boosting domestic demand. In this study, 35 Chinese cities were chosen as research samples, and research methods such as literature, logical analysis, and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis were used to select conditional variables such as government policy promotion and assistance, expert human resources, sports competitions and events, stadiums and facilities, and sponsorship by sports enterprises to examine how Chinese sports-consuming cities can develop sustainably. The research discovered that sports contests and events, as well as stadiums and facilities, are the essential prerequisites for the sustainable growth of sports-consuming cities, and that diverse combinations of the two may play a vital role in different circumstances. For the sustainable development of sports-consuming cities, there are four clusters and three models, which correspond to the “Venue + Event” model (Clusters 1 and 2), the “Event-led” model (Cluster 3), and the “Venue-led” model (Cluster 4). To encourage the high-quality growth of China’s sports business, each city may establish its development strategy based on its unique qualities. The goal is to supply Chinese expertise for the long-term growth of Western sports cities. Full article

The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of attracting a mega-sport facility on the development of a small town. As a case study, we took a close look at the changes occurring since Muju County attracted Taekwondowon in 2014 and its significance to urban development and city branding. Data were collected by individual interviews with five research participants engaged in the business and the regional development of Taekwondowon and the Muju County Office (MCO). As a result, the study produced the following outcomes: First, MCO has established an administrative and legal system to actively utilize Taekwondowon and spur urban development. Second, the regional ripple effects include the local economic consumption by the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation (TPF), purchasing local agricultural products by the TPF, and increasing income for local lodging and catering businesses generated by taekwondo events held at Taekwondowon. Third, and most importantly, Muju has been pursuing a transformation into a sustainable international tourism city by becoming the mecca for taekwondo. To achieve this goal, Taekwondowon has been taking some existing functions of Kukkiwon, and the MCO constructed the Taekwon Village, Taekwon Park, and Taekwon V Land throughout Muju. In addition, the social overhead capital necessary for a tourist destination, such as road expansion and a new express bus system between the international airport and Muju, has been reinforced. Furthermore, various tourism products using Taekwondowon have been provided to continue its city branding. In summary, it was found that Taekwondowon has played a pivotal role in Muju’s journey toward achieving sustainable development as the mecca for taekwondo. Full article

Ongoing developments in video resolution either using consumer-grade or professional cameras has opened opportunities for different applications such as in sports events broadcasting and digital cinematography. In the field of geoinformation science and photogrammetry, image-based 3D city modeling is expected to benefit from this technology development. Highly detailed 3D point clouds with low noise are expected to be produced when using ultra high definition UHD videos (e.g., 4K, 8K). Furthermore, a greater benefit is expected when the UHD videos are captured from the air by consumer-grade or professional drones. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been published to quantify the expected outputs when using UHD cameras in terms of 3D modeling and point cloud density. In this paper, a quantification is shown about the expected point clouds and orthophotos qualities when using UHD videos from consumer-grade drones and a review of which applications they can be applied in. The results show that an improvement in 3D models of ≅65% relative accuracy and ≅90% in point density can be attained when using 8K video frames compared with HD video frames which will open a wide range of applications and business cases in the near future. Full article

This article presents empirical evidence that suggests that there are multiple effects of local government sports event hosting policies. This study is predicated on the notion that the attraction of sports events is a feature of city-level policies. The empirical analysis used a multiple effects model, and the research employed a dual model approach: (a) a sponsorship effect model and (b) a tourism effect model. A questionnaire was administered online, and 383 cases were used for data processing. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0. (a) In the “business model”, it was confirmed that event satisfaction affected sustainable purchase intention only through the sponsor’s social image. (b) The “tourism model” confirmed that event satisfaction affected the intention to engage in positive word of mouth to recommend the destination through both forming a psychological attachment and experiencing emotional satisfaction. Among the event satisfaction factors, service satisfaction was identified as more important than facility satisfaction. As shown by the above results, satisfaction with sports events had simultaneous effects on the persistence of the sponsorship effects model and the persistence of tourism effects. The study concluded that attractive sports events promoted sustainable urban growth. Full article