Towards a model of sports franchise leverage for destination marketing

Abstract

This research investigates the leverage of sports franchises by destination marketing organisations for their tourism potential. Leverage in this instance is manifested by the opportunities afforded DMOs to co-opt the often global recognition of professional sports clubs to enhance the profile of a destination for the benefit of the wider stakeholder environment and not simply as a tool to attract additional sports tourists. It adds to the literature in covering a hitherto under scrutinised field of tourism enquiry focusing on the role of internationally acclaimed professional football teams as catalysts for tourism in the cities that host them. In doing so the study links theory to practice and provides policy makers with options for implementing initiatives in collaboration with sports franchises, resulting in benefits across the wider stakeholder environment.

The study, focusing on the cities of Amsterdam and Manchester, identifies elements of best practice and crucially the factors that hinder optimal leverage strategies when it comes to the use of major commercially oriented sports franchises. A compelling case is made for the leverage of these entities in locations where the circumstances permit, with the research proposing a way forward under the guise of a model for sports franchise leverage. The model adds to the literature on tourism leverage and has significant implications for DMOs in providing a practical template characterised by its flexibility and applicability in wider settings. In providing insights into how stakeholder theory, destination marketing, actor network theory and cooperative marketing enjoy an almost symbiotic relationship in the tourism sphere, the study represents a first of its kind and should elicit the interest of policy makers, sports franchises and researchers.