Novelty effects and sports facilities in smaller cities: Evidence from Canadian hockey arenas
研究了小城市新建冰球馆对观众人数的短期提升（新奇效应），发现该效应仅在前五年存在，且在小城市中仅出现在开放后的第三至第五年。
Like their larger counterparts, smaller cities use public funds to build facilities to host local sports franchises. One argument for doing so is the new economic activity and attendance new facilities generate. However, academic research examining both major league stadium/arenas and minor league baseball stadiums finds a novelty effect – a brief period of higher attendance – exists but not a long-term sustainable increase for new facilities. This paper extends the research on small cities and novelty effects of sports facilities by integrating and exploring how city size and proximity influences the novelty effect of new hockey arenas in smaller communities. Results show a novelty effect for new facilities built to host Canadian Hockey League franchises for the first five years. In small cities, the novelty effect occurs only in years three through five after opening.