Coinciding with the exciting news that Major League Baseball will be returning in July, I would like to provide a brief overview of Sports Market Analytics, a unique resource for sports fans and researchers interested in the business and economic impact of sports. Law school patrons can access this database by entering their Northwestern Net ID and password or by using GlobalProtect VPN.
On the landing page, links are provided for some of the most popular data under the “Quick Links” and “Summary Statistics” headers, and it’s also possible to access fan market data for various professional and amateur leagues. Meanwhile, within the “All Data for a Sport” box, we find links to landing pages for 42 different sports.
From the baseball landing page, for example, we can review data on consumer expenditures and participation in the sport, as well fan market numbers for both Major and Minor League Baseball. If we select “Team Valuations” beneath “MLB Fan market,” we retrieve annual valuations of each team dating back to the 2010 season. Within “Brand Share-of-Market,” we find annual brand preferences for baseball fans, organized by product. For example, among baseball fans in 2019, Toyota was the most popular truck brand and Bud Light was the most popular beer. On the “Social Media Market Summary” page, we find interesting data such as the percentages of baseball fans who use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
The database also provides data for professional and college sports venues. For example, if we select “Venues” from the ribbon at the top of the page, click “Venue Reports,” choose “RSV Pro Facilities Report’ from the “Venue Type” drop-down menu, and search for “White Sox,” we can retrieve information about the ballpark at 35th and Shields. Among other data, we find information about naming rights, ticket prices, luxury suites, and stadium financing.
Whether you’re conducting serious research or just looking for some fun facts relating to your sports teams, I think you’ll enjoy exploring Sports Market Analytics. And, for those interested more generally in sports law research, I recommend checking out the Pritzker Legal Research Center’s online guide to Dispute Resolution in Sports.
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