The State of Arizona saw a multimillion dollar economic boost when it hosted the 2017 NCAA Final Four and Championship and now the state is hoping for a repeat when Final Four and Championship games return to State Farm Arena in Glendale on April 6 and 8.
A study from the Seidman Research Institute and Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business found that the state saw a nearly $160 million economic boost from the 2017 games, $121.7 million of that from out-of-state visitors and media, and $38.2 million from out-of-state organizations.
The study found that visitors spent on average $487 a day and stayed 4.16 nights, while members of the media spent $408.64 per day and stayed 5.1 nights. Average hotel rates during the 2017 NCAA tournament was $138 a night, according to a synopsis of the study. .
Spending from nearly 60,000 visitors during the tournament infused $11.7 million in tax revenues in the state, but the total economic output totaled to $324.5 million including taxes and the value of goods and services sold in total during Athletic Events.
This year’s Final Four is expected to bring in more than $413 million, according to the finance company WalletHub, although final numbers won’t be tallied for months after the tournament.
The Arizona Wildcats are hoping to make it to Glendale; they play a Sweet Sixteen game against Clemson on Thursday, March 28.
George Frisvold, a University of Arizona professor of agricultural and resource economics, participated in the recent economic study “Visitor Impacts of Arizona Athletics Events.”
That study, according to a press release, found that Arizonans who travel to Tucson for UA sports spent about $82 million, while out of state sports fans spent about $50 million for the 2023 fiscal year.
Tallied together, the study found that spending from all visitors, including students and income from jobs that Arizona Athletics create, equals about $265 million in economic output for the state.
“Arizona Athletics wanted to do this study and they wanted it to be conducted in house, so that’s how my team got involved,” Frisvold said. “The athletics department already had the credit card data, which tracks how many people attend so we were able to go from there.”
What shocked Frisvold’s team, though, was the sheer amount of visitor spending for Arizona Athletics.
“It’s surprising to see how many visitors we get from other parts of the country that come here for our local games in Tucson,” Frisvold said.
The study shows the strength of Arizona Athletics and their dedicated fan base from across the country.
Newly hired Athletics Director Desireé Reed-Francois, in a written statement, said that UA athletics “plays a vital role in the Southern Arizona community and across the state, bringing together Wildcats fans who in turn become economic drivers.”
The UA Wildcats defeated Dayton on March 23 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. They play Clemson Thursday, March 28, in Los Angeles.
As far as the actual NCAA tournament goes, the majority of games are played out of state so it might not do too much for the Arizona economy until the Final Four but with the tournament underway, and the final four quickly approaching, there will soon be official studies on how much money this year’s tournament will bring in once all the points are scored and all the spending from visitors tallied.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
