As a consequence of the high level of investment thathosting these sport events require, many of the expected economiceffects, including increased tourism to the city, have been scrutinizedby scholars who claim that the direct economic benefits are not sufficient to justify hosting the event (Baade & Matheson,2002). Although scholars have recently begun to examine theindirect effects of hosting sport events, including changes todestination brand image (Zhang & Zhao, 2009), we still knowrelatively little about what effects these events have on the perceptionof the brand image among potential visitors, and especiallyamong those who have never visited the destination before, yetmight be familiar with the sport event that takes place in thedestination.