Kojo Quartey: What happens in Vegas? The Super Bowl
Sports is one of the biggest industries in the world, and this weekend, there will be a sporting event in Las Vegas, which is the biggest one-day event in the world. As far as single-day events go, there is none larger economically than the Super Bowl.
Now, for sporting events, the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games are bigger than the Super Bowl, but they both involve multiple teams, numerous countries, and are held over a period of weeks. However, the Super Bowl is a one-day event, with only two teams, in one country, and the impact is immense. For this year’s Super Bowl, I will look at how it impacts the local (host) economy and other economies where people watch it on television, hang out at home, and spend money on everything from beer to chicken wings and potato chips.
A study by the University of Arizona on last year’s Super Bowl in Phoenix indicates that the economic impact was $1.3 billion on the state of Arizona. According to the study, last year's Super Bowl added $726 million to the state's GDP, and over 102,000 people came to the area for the event, spending $221 million while in Phoenix. They calculated that the game helped create 10,459 jobs worth $494 million in income for local residents. Personally, having done some of these economic impact studies in the past, I am always suspicious of the numbers, as they do tend to be over-inflated. But that’s what the research shows.
This year, the game is expected to have an economic impact of $1.1 billion on the Las Vegas area alone, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority along with research from Applied Analysis, a quantitative analysis firm. This year's Super Bowl is expected to create 6,433 new jobs and $282 million in salaries and wages.
Aside from the direct and indirect economic impact on the local economy, we all know that the Super Bowl is a national phenomenon. So, money is spent weeks before and sometimes after the big day. Some people stock up and others save up and overconsume and overindulge on that day. So, the impact of the Super Bowl goes well beyond where it is being played. It was estimated that a total of more than $17 billion was spent by consumers on Super Bowl-related purchases in 2023. These purchases included, for example, food and beverages, game-related merchandise, other apparel, decorations and televisions.
Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest U.S. food consumption day of the year, only second to Thanksgiving. Chicken wings and pizza are the most popular food items. The options for chicken wings and pizza abound in Monroe, so no problem there. In 2024, consumers in the United States are expected to spend an average of just over $85 on purchases related to the Super Bowl, mainly on food and beverages. Other products that were purchased by consumers include team apparel/accessories, decorations, televisions and furniture.
The undisputed drink of choice at every Super Bowl game is beer. It's estimated that Americans drink over 325 million gallons of beer on Super Bowl Sunday. If this is factual, that is an average of almost a gallon of beer for every man, woman and child in the U.S. Yes, that includes all the babies! Again, I am suspicious of these numbers. While that much food and beverages may have been purchased during that time, it does not mean that all of it was consumed. I am sure many save some of their purchases for weeks and maybe months. I am unsure how the actual consumption is measured.
As far as other stats last year, a 30-second television ad cost approximately $7 million, and, about $11 million was won on related bets at casinos in the state of Nevada alone.
The Super Bowl is huge and most definitely will impact our economy whether we live in Las Vegas or in Monroe County, Michigan. In this case, what happens in Vegas, does not stay in Vegas.
— Kojo Quartey is President of Monroe County Community College and an economist. He may be reached at kquartey@monroeccc.edu.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Kojo Quartey: What happens in Vegas? The Super Bowl
