TURNKEY Sports Poll July 2009 - facilities, youth sports, college football and professional tennis

TURNKEY Sports Poll

Turnkey Sports & Entertainment owns the Turnkey Sports Poll, the industry’s continuing survey of senior-level executives and owners which probes the hottest issues inside sports. The results of the poll appear weekly in the SportsBusiness Journal.

July 2009
Facilities, Youth Sports, College Football and Professional Tennis

Which Wimbledon Men's Final was better?

This year's (Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick in 5 sets) - 54.20%

Last year's (Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in 5 sets) - 27.27%

No response/Not sure - 18.53%

What place did the US Men's Soccer team get in the recently completed FIFA Confederations Cup?

2nd place - 73.08%

3rd place - 2.10%

4th place - 1.05%

Did not place - 0.70%

1st place - 0.35%

No response/Not sure - 22.73%

ESPN is expected to be an active bidder for the rights to broadcast English Premier League games in the U.S. in future seasons. Would landing the deal hurt or help fan interest in MLS?

Help - 65.03%

Hurt - 19.58%

No response/Not sure - 15.38%

Of the arenas that opened in 1999, which . . .

	American Airlines Arena (Miami)	Conseco Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)	New Orleans Arena	Pepsi Center (Denver)	Philips Arena (Atlanta)	RBC Center (Raleigh)	Staples Center (Los Angeles)	No response/Not sure
. . . has best retained its luster and kept up with the latest trends?	4.98%	8.90%	0.36%	6.05%	2.85%	0.71%	47.33%	28.83%
. . . would you most like to tour?	3.91%	22.42%	1.78%	4.63%	2.49%	1.78%	37.72%	25.27%
... will be the first to be replaced?	10.32%	4.63%	27.40%	2.14%	9.25%	6.41%	3.20%	36.65%

If you were an advisor to a new consumer electronics brand targeted at America’s youth, and the brand had the resources to focus on just one (1) youth sport nationally, which youth sport would you recommend?

	July 2009	July 2006
Soccer	21.35%	33.48%
Baseball	18.86%	20.00%
Basketball	16.37%	16.09%
Football	12.10%	9.57%
Skateboarding	8.54%	8.26%
Lacrosse	7.47%	3.04%
Hockey	4.27%	2.17%
BMX	1.78%	Not asked
Golf	1.07%	1.74%
Softball	0.36%	0.00%
Tennis	0.36%	0.00%
Other (Please specify):	2.85%	3.04%
No response	4.63%	2.61%

The Little League World Series is one of the few youth sports that garners national coverage and sponsorship. What other youth sport has the potential to attract similar attention and coverage, and be profitable?

Basketball - 18.28%

Football - 14.70%

Skateboarding - 11.83%

No other youth sport - 11.47%

Soccer - 10.39%

Golf - 6.09%

Lacrosse - 6.09%

Hockey - 5.73%

BMX - 3.94%

Tennis - 2.15%

Softball - 1.08%

Other - 0.36%

No response/Not sure - 7.89%

Ten years from now, what sport is going to have the highest levels of participation amongst 10 - 18 year olds?

Soccer - 32.26%

Basketball - 22.22%

Baseball - 15.77%

Lacrosse - 8.60%

Football - 3.58%

Skateboarding - 3.58%

Golf - 3.23%

Hockey - 1.79%

BMX - 1.43%

Other (Please specify) - 1.43%

Tennis - 0.36%

Softball - 0.00%

No response/Not sure - 5.73%

Which of the following are you more interested in?

Professional football - 57.55%

College football - 41.01%

No response/Not sure - 1.44%

Should the government be involved in determining the championship structure of Division I college football?

No - 87.05%

Yes - 11.15%

No response/Not sure - 1.80%

Is the average college football fan interested in the out-of-season coverage of college football?

No - 50.72%

Yes - 46.04%

No response/Not sure - 3.24%

What grade would you give the Big Ten Network two years after its launch?

"GPA" = 2.39

C - 28.06%

B - 26.98%

D - 7.55%

A - 4.32%

F - 0.72%

No response/Not sure - 32.37%

The ATP and USTA have new leadership, and the WTA is searching for a new CEO. Which organization will benefit most from the leadership changes?

All will benefit - 19.93%

USTA - 12.68%

ATP - 11.96%

WTA - 7.97%

None will benefit - 5.43%

No response/Not sure - 42.03%

Will the US Open exceed last year's levels of . . .

	Yes	No	No response/ Not sure
. . . ticket sales?	39.13%	50.00%	10.87%
. . . sponsorship sales?	8.33%	80.43%	11.23%

Which of the following will have the biggest impact on the American public’s interest in the upcoming US Open?

Andy Roddick's second place finish at Wimbledon - 44.20%

Roger Federer winning his 15th Grand Slam title - 32.25%

Rafael Nadal's return from injury - 10.87%

No response/Not sure - 12.68%

Should the ATP and WTA merge to form a joint tour with a common schedule?

Yes - 66.30%

No - 14.86%

No response/Not sure - 18.84%

Thinking about your own particular business, what best describes your confidence level regarding the next 12 months for your own business?

	July 08	May 09	June 09	July 09
Optimistic (5, 6, or 7)	73.71%	66.54%	69.45%	72.83%
Neutral (4)	11.86%	15.18%	13.49%	10.14%
Pessimistic (1, 2, or 3)	13.92%	17.51%	16.67%	16.30%
No response/Not sure	0.52%	0.78%	0.40%	0.72%