[11
MAY 00] COVENTRY UNIVERSITY NEWS
Fans Count The Value Of Sky Blues
A
Coventry University researcher has been quizzing fans to try and work
out how much the Sky Blues helps the local economy.
Ian
Richards has carried out the interviews as part of his doctoral study
to gauge the local economic impact of a premier league football club.
In
the course of his research, which has the full backing of Coventry
City FC, Ian will be examining three key areas:
- money
spent by fans in local pubs, restaurants and shops
- work
provided by the football club to local businesses such as printers
and caterers
- jobs
provided by the club itself
Ian,
who is conducting his research in conjunction with the University’s
Business School and Centre for Local Economic Development (CLED), also
based at Coventry University, said:
“This
is only the second such study conducted in Britain examining the
economic impact of a professional football club”
“We
posted questionnaires to all of the club’s season ticket holders
in which we asked questions such as how they get to the ground and
how much they would spend on food, drink and so on. We also asked if
they would spend as much in Coventry on a non-match day.”
As
an incentive to those who return the questionnaires, the respondents
are being entered for a free prize draw - with a replica shirt signed
by a Coventry City player of their choice as the prize.
As
well as the postal survey, Ian and his team has also interviewed
hundreds of home and away fans at matches to determine the impact of
their spending patterns.
He
added:
“The
next stage of the research will be interviews conducted with local
businesses to ascertain the impact they think the presence of the
club, and the supporters it attracts, has on their trade.”
The
results of the research will be submitted to the club as a report
towards the end of the summer, with the report also forming the basis
of Ian’s doctoral thesis.
|
