Mega events in the UK: the effects on fan culture of moving to a new stadium

ABSTRACT

New stadia are a key feature of recent major sporting events and their legacy continues to be an issue surrounded by considerable debates. This study looks at the history of such mega events in the United Kingdom with a specific focus on the stadium legacies of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 and the Olympic Games in London in 2012. Through interviews with the supporters of the two clubs that took over stadia after those events – Manchester City and West Ham United – the research gauges the impact that a move has on fan cultures and how those fans view the changes. The study concludes that such moves are potentially problematic for club owners and that the voice of fans should be listened to when making decisions in the future.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Grant, ‘An Analytical Framework for a Political Economy of Football,’ 75.

2. Gibson, ‘West Ham face compensation risk over state aid for Olympic Stadium refit’.

3. Taylor, ‘Boleyn becomes bygone’.

4. Hughson, England and the 1966 World Cup.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid., 48.

7. Ibid., 5.

8. Ibid.

9. Bretherton, Piggin and Bodet, ‘Olympic sport and physical activity promotion’; Misener et al., ‘The elusive “trickle-down effect”’, 135–56; MacAloon, ‘“Legacy” as managerial/magical discourse’, 2060–71.

10. Misener et al., ‘The elusive “trickle-down effect”’, 135–56.

11. MacAloon, ‘“Legacy” as managerial/magical discourse’, 2060–71.

12. Rhodes, ‘Sport England figures show drop in sports activity since London 2012’.

13. Brown et al., ‘Event satisfaction and behavioural intentions’.

14. Lee and Taylor, ‘Critical reflections on the economic impact assessment of a mega-event’; Kim, Gursoy and Lee, ‘The impact of the 2002 World Cup on South Korea’; Kim and Petrick, ‘Residents’ perceptions on impacts of the FIFA 2002 World Cup’; Lorde, Greenidge and Devonish, ‘Residents’ perceptions on impacts of the ICC Cricket World Cup on Barbados’.

15. Preuss, ‘The conceptualisation and measurement of mega sport event legacies’.

16. Kavetsos and Szymanski, ‘National well-being and international sports events’.

17. Kellison and Kim, ‘Public attitudes towards no-vote stadium subsidies’.

18. Hills, Fan Cultures; Gray, Fandom; Barton and Lampley, Fan Culture.

19. Hiller, ‘Mega-events, Urban Boosterism and Growth Strategies’; Kuper and Szymanski, Soccernomics, 300–19.

20. Kuper and Szymanski, Soccernomics, 300–19.

21. Ibid., 319.

22. Jago et al., ‘Optimising the potential of mega-events’.

23. Smith, ‘Leveraging benefits from major events’.

24. Kulczycki and Koenigstorfer, ‘Why sponsors should worry about corruption as a mega sport event syndrome’.

25. Brannagan and Rookwood, ‘Sports mega-events, soft power and soft disempowerment’.

26. Turner, ‘Modern English football fandom and hyperreal, “safe”, “all-seater” stadia’.

27. Taylor, Football and Its Fans; King, The End of the Terraces; Giulianotti, ‘Supporters, Followers, Fans and Flaneurs’.

28. Redhead, Post-fandom Millennial Blues.

29. Ibid., 124.

30. Olympic Stadium Coalition.

31. Gibson, ‘West Ham face compensation risk over state aid for Olympic Stadium refit’.

32. Gibson, ‘London Mayor Sadiq Khan orders inquiry into West Ham stadium costs’.

33. Kelso, ‘Boris Johnson to face Olympic Stadium costs questions’.

34. BBC Sport. ‘West Ham to pay £2.5M Olympic Stadium rent per year’.

35. BBC Sport, ‘London Stadium’.

36. Dodds, ‘Barry Hearn labels West Ham’s Olympic Stadium deal “outrageous”’.

37. Dalleres and Gill, ‘Revealed’.

38. Wilson, ‘How Manchester City won the stadium lottery’.

39. Conn, Richer Than God.

40. Ibid., 2.

41. Ibid., 5.

42. Ibid., 263.

43. Ibid., 260–66.

44. May, Goodbye to Boleyn.

45. Ibid., 26.

46. Turner, ‘Modern English football fandom and hyperreal, “safe”, “all-seater” stadia,’ 129.