Impact of Football Season Extension and Temperature Fluctuation on Stadium Energy Consumption

Abstract

Football is a popular and widely played sport across the globe. Growth in the popularity of football in Norway has coincided with the extension of the domestic season of the top national division. Previously, football was a summer sport in Norway but the extension of the football season by approximately 8 weeks has led to an earlier start and a later end of the season. In this study, I investigated how the extension of the football season and temperature fluctuations affect monthly energy consumption, and determined which of these two factors contributes to changes in energy consumption during specific months. Data on energy specially used to de-ice the football pitch was obtained from energy suppliers and the monthly average temperature was derived from daily measurements from the nearest meteorological station of four stadiums in different regions of Norway. To analyze the relationship between these variables, linear regression with detrending was used. The results show, that increasing energy usage during December, January, and February was mostly due to the increase in the use of football pitches, probably due to the extension of the football season and participation in UEFA football competitions by the clubs, whereas temperature fluctuations were more responsible for declining energy use during the April and March. I discuss the implications of these findings, particularly in relation to a likely future rise in temperature due to climate change, which might mean less snow in Norway and other countries with cold climates, making football potentially less energy-demanding in northern climates.