Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Sports facilities have been built using public subsidies and there is limited research about the community benefits derived from these investments. The purpose of this case study was to examine whether social spaces at sports facilities nurture a sense of community for attendees of the 2017 Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training home games at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona. Social spaces at sports facilities are generally defined as non-fixed seating spaces at the venue where attendees can increase social interactions and foster a sense of community. Non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted on-site in real time before, during and after the game. In this study, a connection between social spaces in sport, feelings of belonging and feelings about community among fans, was established. The qualitative research advanced the theoretical understanding of social spaces, as contributors to fostering sense of community for sports fans, which expands on past research that focused primarily on sport participants. In addition to advancing the theory, the findings provide practitioners with insight into the importance of developing social spaces at sports facilities, since sense of community can originate in social spaces.