ABSTRACT
In today’s society, sport has become an omnipresent mass phenomenon: More than 27 million people are members of the approximately 87,000 sports clubs in Germany, and more than 5 million Germans work out in approximately 6,000 fitness centers. The most spectacular segment within the sports market, which at the same time has the most public attention, is certainly top sporting events. Thousands of fans undertake extensive trips to see and support their favorite athletes during competitions. Televised sports reporting reaches blockbuster levels, earning the broadcasting stations record advertising profits. The Olympic flame is followed not only by current top athletes but also by the media and business enterprises from all over the world (Hermanns & Riedmueller, 2008). The high popularity that sporting events enjoy with the spectators, the media, and the advertising industry is quite impressively shown by the following statistical data:
In the competition between the various different promoters of professional sporting events, a banal distinction is made between successful and less-successful events. To be able to determine whether an event has been successful, it is essential to determine criteria that can be used to measure the success of the event. These criteria to quantify success are referred to in this chapter as success indicators.
