One of the highlights of the fall season for many Americans is football (real American football, not that soccer thing)! The rivalries, the tailgating, the rankings, the playoffs…it’s competition at its best. And over the years, the pageantry of it has grown, too. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest media events in the world each year, with over 110 million people tuning in for the last few. The Super Bowl is eight of the top 10 most watched broadcasts in the history of American television, and this doesn’t even count all the social media mentions.
So what does hosting a Super Bowl get you as the host city and state?
Here are Five Fast Facts on hosting a Super Bowl:
- 💰 Getting There - The average cost of the 2024 Super Bowl is expected to be around $6,000-10,000, just a wee bit more than the $12 price tag back in 1967! It’s no wonder so many people watch it on TV instead.
- 📈 Tax Benefits - A tangible benefit to the city hosting the Super Bowl is the additional tax revenue coming in from visitors to the game. This varies based on year, location, and team, but it’s generally pretty stellar. Back in 2015, Glendale, AZ got a boost of almost $2 million from the game. In 2022, LA scored between $12-20 million, and added a couple thousand jobs, too.
- 😣 There’s A Cost - There ain’t no free lunch, and the Super Bowl is no exception. Host cities definitely have skin in the game! Take Minneapolis in 2018, for example. They spent around $55 million (about $20 million of it was covered by sponsors) in perks like police escorts, parking, portable cell towers, ad space, entertainment, and more.
- 🚢 Exposure Benefits, Part 1 - And this brings us to the payoff: exposure. For a period of time, the host city is on EVERYONE’S mind. The NFL estimates that the economic exposure for a Super Bowl is anywhere from $200-$800 million overall in terms of merchandise, tourism, news coverage, and public awareness. It’s one heckuva rising tide!
- 💲 Exposure Benefits, Part 2 - Not everyone agrees with the NFL’s estimates (they are, after all, trying to “sell” cities on hosting). Some analysts say the economic benefit is far smaller, more along the lines of $30-$130 million. Still not chump change!
🔥Bottom line: The Super Bowl is a major, major event. It requires a lot of up front investment from the host city and state, but the payoff and economic benefits in the end seem to be well worth the effort. Everyone already knows about big cities like New York or LA, but smaller cities like Glendale or Minneapolis can really land themselves on the map with a successful Super Bowl event. That’s good for the city, and good for the Paychecks of people living there, too.
What do you think of the Super Bowl and its economic benefits?
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