What Is the Fastest Growing Big Sport in the Last Decade? Holy Cross Sports Economist Weighs In

Although today's sports audiences are bigger than ever, reports show that revenue growth has slowed down pretty much everywhere in the world. So now that the stakes are higher than ever, what can professional sports leagues do to compete for fans’ money and attention?

The Economist recently sought the insight of Victor Matheson, professor of economics at Holy Cross, on this issue. Matheson, a renowned expert on sports economics spoke about the new ways sports such as rugby, cricket, and basketball are changing the way they play their games to appeal to bigger and broader circles of viewers.

One sport that has clearly mastered a successful reinvention is cricket, according to Matheson. He says in the article that while football is by far still the most popular and lucrative sport in the world, cricket is growing faster than any other big sport in the past decade.

"Sports can hope to increase their revenues either by gaining new fans or by relying on existing fans becoming wealthier. Cricket is betting on the latter," said Matheson.

Victor Matheson is a frequent source for national media on a wide range of economic topics, particularly the business side of sports. He has been interviewed on a variety of sports economics topics recently, including Voice of OC's article on the Anaheim Angels' new stadium and Reason Magazine's article on the expense of Worcester's own planned ballpark.

To read the full article, go to Economist.com.