Identify the Most Important Formative Indicators of Atmosphere in Football Stadiums (A Marketing Approach)

An attractive atmosphere is one of the most important motivations of spectators to attend a sport event. The aim of this study was to identify the most important formative indicators of atmosphere in football stadiums with marketing approach which was conducted with the qualitative method. So, after the literature review, semi-structured and deep qualitative interviews with elites were carried out. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation and identification of all indicators (N=15). Totally, 194 formative indicators of atmosphere in football stadiums were identified and categorized in 6 main factors: factors related to advertising activities (with two items: media and statements and celebrations), factors related to stadium (with two items: physical facilities of stadium and stadium architecture), factors related to event (with two items: event attributes and players and coaches), factors related to event organizer (with two items: stadium entertainment programs and event management), factors related to society (with two items: club position in society and football position in society) and factors related to spectators. The proposed conceptual framework in this study can be used as guidance to the activity of marketers and sport event managers and future research.