By Ben KlaymanCHICAGO (Reuters)- WireNews - A couple of times a year, David Holzhammer drives more than 200 miles from his home in Iowa City, Iowa, to see the Chicago Cubs play baseball. That is a luxury he is not giving up, despite high gas prices and other strains on his wallet.But he is cutting back on hot dogs and beer at the relatively expensive concession stands at Wrigley Field. I try to spend less at the game, said Holzhammer, 55. I came up with three high-school boys and I had them eat outside the ballpark.Even in an economic downturn, fans still go to sports games, and some leagues are setting attendance records, but such statistics hide a more complicated story on the effect of a weakening U.S. economy on sports.In a Reuters/Zogby survey on June 12 to 14, almost 15 percent of those polled said they are attending fewer sporting events this year, and most of those people cited the weak economy as the reason. About 28 percent are spending less on food and souvenirs.The reality is people are going to spend less and be more careful about choosing what they spend it on, Rich Gotham, president of the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics, said in a telephone interview.The results of the survey were borne out in numerous interviews at ballparks, arenas, golf courses and race tracks around the United States, where fans like Holzhammer said they were scaling back on what they spend.Bob Carter, 66, has given up ticket packages for National Football League and Major League Baseball teams in Houston. I’m retired. On a fixed income you can’t do a whole lot, but I had to cut back, he said.

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