Introduction: Over the past 20 years, a number of large sports venues have been built In China for events such as the Asian Olympic Games, the National Games, the National University Games and the Minority Games. High cost, huge investments and a long capital recovery period are characteristic of these large sports venues. Therefore, they can be difficult to manage and at great risk of making a financial loss. Effective management of large sports venues and how to prevent them from suffering a monetary loss after the games have become important issues. Therefore, analyzing the management of large sports venues and investigating reasons behind any losses incurred will help investors and managers to solve the problem and provide a better environment for the promotion of sport in China. Discussion This paper firstly uses the example of the management of Georgia Dome in the USA to analyze the profits and losses, the sources of income, the schedule of sports events and exhibitions, the size of audiences and the sale of tickets. Then, the investigation compares the management of large sports venues in China with Georgia Dome. From the study it was concluded that the high market demand is the primary reason for the profitability of Georgia Dome, and accordingly, China needs a market with strong demand to support large sport venues. This paper then employs the demand and supply theory of microeconomics to explore the factors influencing the market demand for large sports venues. The demand for large sports venues changes constantly on the basis of two kinds of factors, subjective and objective. Subjective factors influencing demand inclue personal preference, knowledge of sports and the enthusiasm for sports. Objective factors include leisure time, population, economy, venue resource and the attractiveness of events which are held. Overall, the demand for large sports venues depends on the development of society in terms of economy, politics and culture. Increased income and leisure time are a precondition for generating such demand. Conclusions Based on the analysis above, several long-term plans could be carried out as strategies to increase the market demand, so as to minimize or even eliminate financial losses incurred by large sports venues in China. First and foremost, it is important to speed up the marketization of the sporting industry in China. Secondly, professional sports leagues should be cultivated, with priority given to the development of certain sports which are popular and offer significant economic benefits. It is also necessary to exploit the propagandistic and educative ability of mass media to promote audiences for sports events. Finally, the new sports venues should be built in accordance with the size of the market and regulated properly in order to prevent the trend of producing venues purely for luxury and grandiosity.
© Copyright 2008 2008 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport: Proceedings, Vol. III. Veröffentlicht von People´s Sports Publishing House. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.