Health risk profiles and payment intentions for enhanced stadium safety: evidence from NFL fans

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how National Football League (NFL) fans’ health risk profiles are associated with their payment intentions for enhanced stadium safety measures during the 2022 NFL season. Grounded in Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), this study distinguishes between general risk-taking as a dispositional trait and domain-specific risk evaluations, including risk attitude and perceived risk. By incorporating general risk-taking as an upstream dispositional factor, this study extends the PMT framework. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the proposed model examines direct and indirect relationships among these constructs to explain fans’ stated intentions to financially support enhanced stadium safety measures. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 415 NFL fans during the 2022 NFL season after stadiums had fully reopened. Participants were recruited through Centiment, an online survey platform, and screened for NFL fandom and prior game attendance. The final analytical sample comprised 414 respondents. Validated scales were adapted to assess general risk-taking, risk attitude, perceived risk, and payment intentions for enhanced stadium safety measures. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted using R to evaluate the measurement and structural models. Indirect effects were examined using nonparametric bootstrapping with 5,000 iterations to assess the hypothesized mediation pathways. Findings Perceived risk was positively associated with NFL fans’ payment intentions for enhanced stadium safety measures. Contrary to expectations, general risk-taking was positively associated with both risk attitude and payment intention but was not significantly associated with perceived risk. Risk attitude was positively associated with perceived risk and payment intention. Mediation analyses identified significant indirect relationships between general risk-taking and payment intention through risk attitude, and between risk attitude and payment intention through perceived risk. These findings highlight the importance of domain-specific risk evaluations while suggesting that dispositional risk-taking may also contribute to fans’ intentions to financially support enhanced safety measures. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design limits causal inference and raises concerns regarding common method bias and endogeneity. Payment intention was measured using a Likert-type scale rather than monetary valuations, preventing estimation of price elasticity or reservation prices. The NFL fan sample limits generalizability to other sport contexts. Additionally, prior attendance frequency and fan identification were not measured, potentially omitting relevant predictors of payment intention. Lastly, this study focused primarily on threat appraisal without directly measuring coping appraisal components, including response efficacy and self-efficacy, limiting its ability to provide a comprehensive test of Protection Motivation Theory. Practical implications The findings offer practical insights for NFL organizations managing live events under heightened health uncertainty. Perceived risk was more strongly associated with fans’ payment intentions for enhanced safety measures than general risk-taking. NFL teams could leverage existing customer relationship management and ticketing platforms to examine attendance and engagement patterns while exploring fans’ safety preferences. Communication strategies through in-stadium displays and mobile applications could explain how specific safety interventions address health-related concerns. Integrating safety enhancements into existing premium seating or club membership tiers may allow organizations to accommodate varying safety preferences while exploring potential revenue opportunities during periods of heightened health uncertainty. Originality/value This study contributes to sport management and consumer behavior literature by extending PMT to examine NFL fans’ payment intentions for enhanced stadium safety measures. By incorporating general risk-taking as an upstream dispositional factor and distinguishing it from domain-specific risk attitude and perceived risk, this study offers a framework for understanding risk-related financial intentions in discretionary sport consumption. The findings highlight the importance of perceived risk and reveal unexpected positive associations between general risk-taking and payment intention, suggesting that dispositional risk tendencies and situational evaluations may have distinct roles in shaping fans’ intentions to financially support safety measures.