Valuing an urban marathon as a public sport service: evidence from the Seoul international marathon.

This study examined the nonmarket value of the Seoul International Marathon (SIM) as part of the city's sport infrastructure and public sport service provision, using the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to estimate Seoul residents' willingness to pay for the event. An online survey of 1,250 adult residents employed a double-bounded dichotomous-choice format in a hypothetical tax-based donation scenario. A logit model was used to explore which factors shape willingness to pay, and bid level, interest in marathon events, satisfaction with related infrastructure, event perception, occupation, and gender emerged as significant predictors. The estimated individual contribution ranged from KRW 15,781.51 (USD 11.34), the median WTP at KRW 14,394.95 (USD 10.35), and the truncated WTP at KRW 4,747.86 (USD 3.41). The findings indicate that the SIM delivers substantial nonmarket benefits for the host city and that residents' positive views of the event and its supporting environment are closely linked to their readiness to contribute. These results underline the potential of large-scale road races to strengthen urban sport infrastructure and provide practical guidance for sport managers and local governments when deciding on public funding, route and facility improvements, event design, and the development of citywide running programmes. The study also shows how resident-based valuation can be incorporated into planning processes to align sport event strategies with broader urban sport and health objectives. Preprint statement: An earlier version of this manuscript was posted as a preprint on Research Square (DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8746817/v1).