The Super Bowl is upon us, and even though our beloved New Orleans Saints will not be competing this year, we are still excited for the big day. With all of this Super Bowl excitement going around, we can remember back to last year when New Orleans hosted Super Bowl XLVII. New Orleans hosts large sporting events on a regular basis, and that was definitely not our first rodeo, but it we pulled out all the stops to make it a successful event, and it ended up bringing in huge amounts of visitor spending to New Orleans, giving our local economy a big boost.
(photo via northjersey.com)
Our city benefits in several different ways when big sporting events come to town. From hotels to restaurants to bars and shops, out-of-towners that are here to celebrate and cheer for their favorite teams spend a good deal of money. Additionally, those businesses that see increased sales also spend more on their supplies and goods to make sure to be stocked and ready for the increase in customers, further increasing spending in New Orleans. Another plus for New Orleans is that infrastructure improvements already in the works are given an extra push towards completion to help our city be prepared for the inevitable influx of people that come to town.
The University of New Orleans conducted a study last year about the economic impact of the Super Bowl in 2013 and concluded that the event propelled $480 million in spending in New Orleans, and $262.8 million of that was said to be direct spending by visitors. Each of those dollars entered our local economy and were spent several times over before leaving, providing our economy with growth that continued on after the fans left. The Super Bowl also helped inspire an estimated $1.2 billion in public and private improvements to the city.
New Orleans was honored at the 2013 World Travel Awards as being America’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination and it’s no wonder why; in 2012 and 2013, New Orleans hosted an unprecedented series of large sporting events including the 78th Allstate Sugar Bowl, the 2012 Allstate BCS National Football Championship, the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2013 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four, and of course, Super Bowl XLVII – and we did it all with style, like only New Orleans could. We are a sports loving city and as we continue to grow, we will continue to host great events, bringing in valuable tourist dollars to our economy.