Browsing by Author "Ross, Walker J."

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Barriers to managing environmental sustainability in public assembly venues
    (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 2020) Ross, Walker J.; Mercado, Haylee Uecker
    Many sport and entertainment venues are still not major adopters of environmental social responsibility (ESR) despite evidence to suggest their benefit. This qualitative study investigated the major barriers that still prevent ESR adoption in public assembly venues (PAVs) used by sport and entertainment organizations. Using resource-based view (RBV) as a framework for analysis, PAV managers of stadiums, arenas, and performing arts centers were interviewed to collect data. Findings suggest a lack of resources to devote to ESR which displays an overall lack of priority given to ESR adoption and knowledge of ESR by PAV managers. If ESR was considered to offer competitive advantage, it would be given more priority, PAV managers would emphasize more training, and it would therefore receive more resource attention.
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    Digital technology and sport ecology
    (The Routledge Handbook of Digital Sport Management, 2022-12-01) Orr, Maddy; Ross, Walker J.
    All human activities are dependent to some extent on the natural environment and the resources that it provides. At the most basic level, the natural environment provides the raw materials needed to build and maintain all sport spaces (e.g., land, grass, metals use in equipment, plants for making shirts). It also provides clean air and fresh water, which are necessary for safe physical activity. As the use of digital technologies expands into every aspect of modern life, questions arise regarding whether and how digital technologies impact athletes’ and fans’ relationships with nature. The literature examining this intersection is scant, but we’ve identified a few specific applications of digital sport innovation that are changing the way sports are managed and played. These include weather and disaster monitoring, air quality monitoring, digital technologies for facility management, and digital technologies to improve the user's (athlete) experience in natural environments. We discuss each area in this chapter and conclude with a brief discussion on the potential and the unknowns in this space, and a word of caution for fast-tech-development that may run counter to healthy human-environment relationships in the sport context.
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    Exploring Partnerships in Sport Event Delivery.
    (Event Management of Cognizant Communication Corporation, 2021-09-01) Zhou, Ran; Ross, Walker J.; Pu, Haozhoua; Kim, Changwook; Kim, Jeeyoon; Kaplanidou, Kyriaki; Leopkey, Rebecca
    In order to provide high-quality sport events and cultivate economic, social, and environmental benefits in the local community, regional sport commissions in the US form partnerships with organizations across sectors. Building on Parent and Harvey's partnership framework, this study seeks to reveal the components and processes of the collaboration between sport commissions and their partners in the delivery of sport events and subsequent outcomes. Using purposive and convenient sampling, data were collected from 12 in-depth interviews with leaders in sport commissions and partnering organizations based on their accessibility and familiarity with the research topic. The study identifies five main areas and multiple subcomponents of event-based partnerships, providing empirical evidence for Parent and Harvey's partnership model. The findings advance this model by specifying the outcomes, challenges, and positive conditions for event-based partnerships and showing interactions between partnership components. More importantly, the findings contribute to a greater understanding of the partnership complexities and dynamics in the sport event-specific context and provide practical insights for sport commissions and other sport event organizers to strategically manage and maintain sport event-based partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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    Predicting climate impacts to the Olympic Games and FIFA Men’s World Cups from 2022 to 2032
    (Taylor & Francis, 2022-04) Ross, Walker J.; Orr, Madeleine
    In response to concern for climate change impacting sport competitions and legacies, and the need to consider climate adaptability in event planning, this paper uses a combination of historical weather and air quality data as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report to predict climactic conditions for the mega-events of the 2022 through 2032. In doing so, this paper provides a preliminary overview of environmental conditions (e.g. temperatures, air quality, precipitation) that can be used by event planners to inform contingency plans for the events and their legacies. The most immediate concerns for the mega events between 2022 and 2032 include heat conditions unsuitable for competition and poor air quality, but there may be more harmful environmental concerns for the long-term legacies of these events. It is imperative that event organizers consider creating climate-resilient events, infrastructure, and legacies that can withstand environmental threats in the future. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
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    Sustainable Olympic Development: A Proposed Benchmark for Managing Economic Outcomes.
    (Taylor & Francis, 2021-03) Koba, Timothy; Gong, Hua; Ross, Walker J.; Grady, John
    No other sporting event possesses the grandeur of the Olympics, and few other development projects demonstrate the lack of cost containment as the Olympics which leaves local residents paying the debt and maintenance of a venue they may never use. Legacy planning is an important consideration for the hosting of the Olympics, but one that does not always receive adequate consideration resulting in the "white elephant phenomenon." This study therefore looked to analyze the cost of hosting the Olympics compared to the economic activity in the host community in order to better inform public policy on the issues of sustainability and legacy, in particular. We are proposing a metric that helps to measure the costs that Olympic hosting has on the host community and provide a benchmark for containing those costs in terms of budgeting, construction and legacy planning for the Games. Consequently, the IOC can institute policy changes for project management that assist host cities in establishing a budget cap for venue development while simultaneously seeking to reduce the crippling debt that has accompanied them in the past. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
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    Thinking outside the ‘box’: a discussion of sports fans, teams, and the environment in the context of COVID-19
    (Taylor & Francis, 2020-11) Mastromartino, Brandon; Ross, Walker J.; Wear, Henry; Naraine, Michael L.
    In this paper, we examine the implications of sport stadiums closures during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The paper looks at the impact of sport stadium closures from three perspectives: The individual fan, the sport organization, and societal implications, with specific consideration to the environment. Previous literature was reviewed in order to highlight the areas in which the sport industry will need to focus their attention to in the coming months and provide theoretical background for academics looking to identify unique research opportunities. With an understanding of the implications of sport stadium closures to the sport world and beyond, academics and practitioners can work to solve the problems that lie ahead during and after the COVID-19 crisis. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR
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    Tokyo 2020 Olympics sustainability: An elusive concept or reality?
    (Sage Publications, 2022-07-11) Trendafilova, Sylvia; Ross, Walker J.; Triantafyllidis, Stavros; Pelcher, Jamee
    The Olympic Games continue to be a creator of adverse environmental impacts for host communities. Given the role that the Olympic Games play in sustainability due to their size, the number of people attending, new construction and infrastructure, and the extensive exposure by the media, this study investigated the Tokyo 2020 Games by evaluating the efficacy of their ecological sustainability efforts. Methods for this study were framed by the conceptual model of Müller et al. Specifically, the model is grounded on the three general aspects of sustainability: ecological, social, and economic. Compared to all Olympic events from 1992 through 2020, results from the present research indicated that Tokyo 2020 Olympics may have been the most ecologically friendly Games. This ecological record is significant, but it may be an unrealistic benchmark, given that the lack of attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic influenced much of the ecological sustainability scores.