Bounded Impacts: Measuring Residents’ Social (Media) Event Impacts from a Major Sport Event

This study measured if residents, or subsets of residents, experienced social event impacts (SEIs) and social media event impacts (SMEIs) from a major sport event. Panel data were collected from 1,027 individuals using an online survey nine-months post-event. Descriptive statistics indicated that although the event did not jeopardize residents’ safety or cause them conflict, it failed to produce positive SEIs and SMEIs, other than feel good factor, amongst the population. A cluster analysis revealed that while there was a subset of residents who experienced positive SEIs and SMEIs, over half were limitedly impacted, experiencing either no positive SEIs nor SMEIs or only SEIs. This research advances SEI-related theory by investigating impacts among all community members, not just attendees; measuring impacts further out from the event, not just shortly post-event; and introducing SMEIs. It challenges the notion that events elicit positive SEIs while identifying boundaries with respect to who experiences them.