Residents' Perception of Intangible Benefits and Costs Associated with Hosting Major Sporting Events

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to estimate on the basis of inhabitants' perception the overall composite and aggregated scores of two major sporting events held in Ergo Arena hall, on the border of Gdańsk and Sopot, in northern Poland. The indirect aim is to identify the determinants affecting the monetary offers of the locals of the two cities. The research results unveil that major sporting events may determine the appearance of intangible social effects that are eagerly valued by the citizens of host cities. The resident's valuation ranges between 6.08 PLN (US$1.96) and 11.29 PLN (US$3.64) for intangible benefits, while between 1.75 PLN (US$0.56) and 2.21 PLN (US$0.71) for intangible costs, depending on the city and the event. The results determine an increase in the values of intangible net benefits. The amount of net intangible benefit is much lower than in the case of mega-sporting events. Nevertheless, it is more likely to host many major sporting events in a short time in one place. The regression analysis shows that the decision to allocate funds to support the Championships in 2016 and 2017 in Gdańsk/Sopot was made by people with high incomes, who expressed an interest in sport, but not necessarily in the sports discipline, and perceived intangible benefits, in particular civic pride and the feel-good factor. In turn, the level of WTPcostwas particularly high among people with high incomes who perceived the threats connected with the hosting of a major sporting event.