investigating the importance of sports facilities & staff for football fans

(a) Purpose: This study seeks to investigate the importance of facilities and staff for football fans in Greece. (b) Design/methodology/approach: A survey was carried out during two matches of Superleague games with a convenience sample of 312 spectators. A structured questionnaire was used with scales based on previous research. (c) Findings: Factor analysis revealed four reliable factor dimensions: facilities design; staff; facilities maintenance, and quick & easy access. Staff and quick & easy access are shown to be the most important dimensions for respondents followed by the other two. Results also indicated that there are significant differences in the importance assigned to these 4 factor dimensions among different levels of age; education; income, and marital status. (d) Research limitations/implications: This study is limited to one sport and on a convenience sample of football fans. Future research can validate further these findings and increase their generalisability. (e) Practical implications: The results of this study challenge sport managers to manage effectively the design of the stadium; the processes of entry and exit of fans; the environment of the game; and the quality of stadium facilities.