Barriers of Attendance For The Syracuse Crunch

The main purpose of this research was to identify the different barriers that could impact attendance for the Syracuse Crunch, a minor league hockey team (AHL). The results of this study provided the Syracuse Crunch front office with information that could have the possibility of improving marketing and promotional strategies to its varying consumer database. Prior to this study, a great amount of research has been conducted that identifies the factors that contribute to one’s attendance at other professional sporting events, however, there are limited amounts of research that have looked to uncover what effects attendance at the minor league level. Furthermore, past research hasn’t looked greatly in detail on what effects attendance at minor league hockey games. This study utilized a survey based design using quantitative data in order to identify which barriers more frequently effect the attendance of Syracuse Crunch fans. The survey was sent to initial participants, and in turn, was distributed by these participants to other people that were interested in participating in this study. Results from this research identified that in-game atmosphere had the greatest impact on attendance as well as friends and family influence, and ease of access being among other contributing factors of attendance at Syracuse Crunch games. With renovations set to occur during 2017-2018 offseason, knowing that in-game atmosphere is such a great determinant will have a strong influence on what is done to create a better experience at Syracuse Crunch games