Authors
Glynn M. McGehee – Georgia State University
Beth A. Cianfrone – Georgia State University
Timothy Kellison – Georgia State University
Abstract
As universities engage in high-cost stadium projects, there is a need to understand the benefits these facilities provide to stakeholders. We consider the soundness of collegiate stadiums in terms of benefits they may provide to undergraduate students, as the most immediate university stakeholders. Specifically, their perception that collegiate stadiums improve university brand equity is considered. The purposes of this study were to measure student perceptions of stadium benefits (e.g., brand, tangible, and intangible) and to determine if students’ personal characteristics explain perception of brand equity benefits of a stadium. Surveys were distributed to students at a university with a new football stadium. The results show that certain student characteristics (i.e., formal involvement in athletics, team identification, university identification, sport identification, class, personal funding) relate to perception of stadium-derived brand equity benefits. The findings contribute to the limited research on collegiate stadium benefits and suggest that potential benefits of collegiate stadiums are distinct from professional stadiums.
