An investigation into attendee motivations at rugby union games held in Scotland: A comparison of a regional and an international game.

Abstract

This study built upon the current body of literature that surrounds attendee motivations, looking specifically at rugby games within Scotland. The aim of this study was to assess how motivations differ depending on the size the event, focusing on a rugby league game and a Six Nations game. Following a quantitative approach the study will be comparing a regional rugby game to an international rugby game to assess how attendee motivations differ between the two games. The two games that the research will be conducted at will be a Stirling County Rugby Football Club game and 6 Nations game where Scotland are playing, both Stirling and Scotland will be playing at 'home' when the research will be conducted. The research concluded that attendees at regional and international game share common motivations for attending games such as escape and vicarious achievement. However, it can be noted that the research found differences in relation to the motivation of involvement and spectacle that surrounds the two different games. The research found that aesthetic appeal was not as prominent as a motivational factor as suggested by the literature. The research found that there was a relationship between lone attendance and involvement as a motivational factor at both the regional and the international game. Keywords: Rugby, Attendee Motivation, Sport Events, Comparative Study.