Fan avidity as it relates to proximity of Minor and Major league affiliates

When sports organizations are affiliating themselves with minor league teams, there can be many factors that go into the decision of what teams to align themselves with. Management should pay particular attention to the aspects of fan motivation, identification, behavior and avidity of the minor league team fans when making these decisions. By associating themselves with teams within close proximity, they could maximize the positive outcome created by that affiliation. Little research has been done however on the relationship between fans of minor league and major league teams within close proximity of each other. This paper is meant to examine this relationship by surveying season ticket holders of three different minor league teams and examining the extent of the correlation between the fan avidity and the motivations of the minor league fans. Upon completion of this research, I showed that the there can be economic benefits and an increase in fan avidity of minor league fans when their major league affiliate is within close proximity