The development of a methodology to assess the amount of money spent on youth sport programs

Recreation programs are under constant scrutiny to demonstrate their worth to the community in which they exist especially now in the era of shrinking budgets. Professional recreators must be able to determine the economic impact of their programs. The literature review indicated the lack of an adequate tool to accomplish this task. The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology to assess the dollars spent on youth soccer programs in Knoxville, Oak Ridge, and Farragut, Tennessee. This methodology is the first step in the development of an assessment tool for use in determining the economic impact of recreational sports programs. The sample of 275 families was drawn from three Recreational Soccer Regions of the American Youth Soccer Organization. The soccer population of the three Regions consisted of approximately 1200 families representing 2400 children aged 5 to 19. A questionnaire was developed and distributed on site during registration for the Spring 1995 season. A total of 275 questionnaires were distributed with 252 (90%) returned. The results of the survey indicated that the typical soccer family in the studied area consists of four members, with parents under 40, having an average income in excess of $54,000. Total expenditures by each regional sample was determined and compared using descriptive statistics. Pair-wise T-tests were performed to determine the significance of the relationship between cost per family between the three Regions. The results of the T-tests indicated that there was no significant difference between the three Regions, (p> .05). A single per child cost factor of $295.87 was then derived. The application of this cost factor to the soccer population indicated that over $1.0 million was spent by soccer families in Knox County, Tennessee and another $250,000 in Oak Ridge during 1994. Recommendations for further research include the development and application of indirect cost multipliers; the study of Competitive Soccer programs; and the use of this methodology the assess the impact of other sporting activities.