{"id":714,"date":"2021-01-29T09:26:37","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T14:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/?p=714"},"modified":"2021-02-03T13:14:19","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T18:14:19","slug":"vaccine-changing-attitudes-towards-attending-sporting-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/2021\/01\/29\/vaccine-changing-attitudes-towards-attending-sporting-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Vaccine Changing Attitudes Towards Attending Sporting Events"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"South Orange NJ, January 29, 2021 \u2013 As the pandemic began to take hold in April 2020, a Seton Hall Sports Poll asked respondents if they would attend a live sporting event \u2013 72 percent said \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Sports Poll completed this week, only 41 percent said \u201cNo\u201d to attending an outdoor sporting event while 49 percent said \u201cNo\u201d to indoors.<\/p>\n

Although both questions posited social distancing and PPE as a condition of attending, the most recent poll asked respondents if they would attend if they also had received a coronavirus vaccine.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that the vaccine is no longer an abstraction but a reality, people are beginning to seek some form of normalcy,\u201d said\u00a0Professor Charles Grantham, Director of the Center for Sport Management within the Stillman School of Business, which oversees the Seton Hall Sports Poll.\u00a0\u201cThis is certainly encouraging for sports leagues and their players, who last March could see no end in sight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The poll was conducted January 22-25 among 1,522 adults, geographically spread across the country. The poll has a margin of error of +\/- 3.2 percent.
\n<\/p>\n

Outdoor Events<\/strong>
\nIn this week\u2019s poll, 40 percent said that if they received a coronavirus vaccine they would attend an outdoor<\/strong> event with personal protection equipment, social distancing measures and restricted attendance. This is up from 28 percent when the question was asked in November, but without access to a vaccine. In April, 2020 only 25 percent said they would attend.<\/p>\n

Indoor Events<\/strong>
\nAs for attending an indoor<\/strong> event, 32 percent say they would attend now (with similar safety precautions), as opposed to just 21 percent in November 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile our poll asked specifically about sporting events, it likely carries over to concert and theater venues and other audience events coming along on the calendar,\u201d according to Stillman Professor of Marketing and Poll Methodologist Daniel Ladik. \u201cThere\u2019s reason to be hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans
\n<\/strong>Among those who called themselves \u201cfans,\u201d the number who said they would attend an outdoor sporting event went up to 57 percent, with just 29 percent saying \u201cNo.\u201d For indoor events, 46 percent said \u201cYes,\u201d while 38 percent said \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

As might be expected, the numbers of those who would attend were higher for self-described \u201cavid fans.\u201d For outdoor events 69 percent said \u201cYes,\u201d while just 24 percent said no. For indoor events, 57 percent said \u201cYes,\u201d and 33 percent said \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the margin of error is higher for subgroups,\u201d said Ladik, there is reason to believe that the trend among sports fans is upward enough for leagues and associated businesses that rely upon attendance to be cautiously optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaccine Spokespersons: Athletes?<\/strong>
\nThe Poll also asked respondents what type of spokesperson would be most persuasive in convincing U.S. citizens to take the Covid-19 vaccine and were asked to select their top three options.\u00a0 While the selections were wide ranging, \u201ca medical professional\u201d was the most cited figure, (58 percent), with \u201ca government official\u201d placing a distant second, named in the top three by 30 percent. A \u201creligious leader\u201d tied with a \u201clocal or community leader\u201d at 25 percent, followed by a \u201cfamous\/popular athlete\u201d at 21 percent.<\/p>\n

When asked to suggest specific names hundreds emerged. Among the sports figures named were Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Bill Belichick, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Mike Trout, Drew Brees, Michael Phelps and soccer stars Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the results of this poll it would seem that the vaccine can make a real difference in sporting event attendance,\u201d said Grantham. \u201cAnd given the influence players may have on a substantial segment of the public, it would seem to be in the best interests of the leagues, their players \u2013 and society at large \u2013 to encourage their players and coaches to vaccinate publicly. The San Antonio Spurs and USA Olympics Basketball Coach Gregg Popovich is an excellent example of much needed leadership on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaccine Priority for Athletes?<\/strong>
\nThe Poll also asked whether athletes should have priority for receiving the coronavirus vaccine, and there was little difference between the responses for pro and college athletes, with only 19 percent saying \u201cYes\u201d for priority for professionals and 22 percent saying \u201cYes\u201d for college players.\u00a0 For pros, 64 percent said \u201cNo,\u201d and for college it was 62 percent.<\/p>\n

Among those who identified themselves as avid fans, 35 percent said \u201cYes\u201d to pro athletes getting vaccine priority and 38 percent said \u201cYes\u201d for college athletes.<\/p>\n

#\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 #<\/p>\n

Results and charted breakdowns of questions by fan-type below; an online version of this release may be found at https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/sportspoll\/<\/a><\/p>\n

ABOUT THE POLL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted regularly since 2006, is performed by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. This poll was conducted online by YouGov Plc. using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Respondents were selected from YouGov\u2019s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents.\u00a0This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been chosen for inclusion in iPoll by Cornell\u2019s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and its findings have been published everywhere from USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Washington Post, AP, and Reuters to CNBC, NPR, Yahoo Finance, Fox News and many points in between.<\/p>\n

Media:<\/em>\u00a0 Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University
\nmichael.ricciardelli@shu.edu<\/a>,\u00a0908-447-3034; Marty Appel,\u00a0AppelPR@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q1<\/strong> – Which, if any, of the following statements best describes your interest in sports? If you do not have any interest in any specific sport, please select the ‘I am not a sports fan’<\/em> option.<\/p>\n