Super Bowl LVII adds $726M to Arizona GDP, $1.3 billion in overall impact
Celebrity chef Guy Fieri gestures to the crowd on hand — an estimated 10,000 people — for his Flavortown Tailgate party in Glendale next to State Farm Stadium on Feb. 12, prior to Super Bowl LVII.
Super Bowl LVII generated $1.3 billion in total economic impact for greater Phoenix, according to new numbers released Wednesday.
The total impact includes direct spending by football fans, media and tourists in town to watch the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in February. Spending at Super Bowl LVII added $726 million to the Arizona gross domestic product, according to economists at the L. William Seidman Research Institute at W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
The expanded $1.3 billion figure is the most of any special event ever held in Arizona and outpaced inflation from the previous Super Bowl. The Super Bowl in 2015 generated a total impact of $719 million and Super Bowl XLII in 2008 generated $501 million.
“Super Bowl LVII was the most successful Super Bowl in the history of Super Bowls,” Michael Bidwill, the owner of the Arizona Cardinals, said during a press conference Wednesday.
Arizona Cardinals President and Owner Michael Bidwill speaks to the assembled guests on Oct. 4 at a press conference at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix.
JIM POULIN | PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL
The Super Bowl was played in Glendale at State Farm Stadium, but the majority of the events were held in downtown Phoenix. Bars, restaurants, hotels, golf courses and other businesses all over the Valley saw impacts of the huge event. Lisa Urias, the director of the Arizona Office of Tourism, said Oct. 4 that $91 million was spent on hotels around the Super Bowl and Valley hotels saw an occupancy rate of 90% during that weekend.
The ASU study found that 103,000 out-of-state visitors came to Arizona for the Super Bowl, with 42,000 people visiting that didn’t even go to the game.
The day after the Super Bowl, Feb. 13, was the busiest day ever at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as more than 200,000 people traveled through the airport.
The Super Bowl broke records for merchandise sales and number of media members on radio row. All of which goes into the impact the game has on the local economy.
The Arizona Super Bowl was watched on TV by 200 million people in the United States, and it was broadcast internationally in more than 25 different languages.
Governor Katie Hobbs speaks to the audience on Oct. 4 when the economic impact data for Super Bowl LVII was released. Hobbs said she will continue to help Valley organizations use big sports events to attract new business to the area
JIM POULIN | PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL
Several government and business officials and leaders, including Bidwill, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Sandra Watson, the president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, said the Super Bowl's impact on the economy is going to endure. The ACA's CEO Forum brought in executives from companies that were considering moving business or building projects in Arizona to meet with Hobbs and business leaders, pitching them on why their businesses should come to Arizona.
“We've really created a river of economic benefits that are going to continue to flow for Arizona,” Bidwill said.
The CEO Forum has come under some scrutiny when a recent report showed that the ACA paid more than $1.8 million on hosting visiting CEOs around the Super Bowl. But Bidwill and Hobbs made it clear that they thought the program would pay more dividends to the economy in the long run.
Hobbs said that she and her administration would continue to work with organizations to attract major sporting events to the state if they bring economic benefits to Arizona.