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Sports Industry: A Research Guide

The resources included in this guide are intended for anyone researching the business aspects of professional sports and venue management with a focus on football, baseball, basketball, tennis, soccer, and golf.

Introduction

Athletic equipment Eastern High School, Washington, D.C. 1941. National Photo Company Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Sports is a large global business. Billions of dollars are spent at sporting events, on sports teams, on sports events, as well as on sports-related equipment and apparel. This guide is devoted to those sports that are the largest in terms of monies at the professional level and as a result, not every sport is included. The primary focus is on the professional sports industry in the United States although there are a few instances in which the international aspects of the industry are mentioned. Because of the focus on professional sports, the Olympics and amateur events are not included.

The managing of teams and venues is an important part of the larger sports industry. We have include material related to the marketing and managing of sports teams generally, as well as material related to the building, naming, and managing of sports venues.

About the Business Section

Part of the Science & Business Reading Room at the Library of Congress, the Business Section is the starting point for conducting research at the Library of Congress in the subject areas of business and economics. Here, reference specialists in specific subject areas of business assist patrons in formulating search strategies and gaining access to the information and materials contained in the Library's rich collections of business and economics materials.