Indy should cheer for Jets and Bears, Badgers and Huskers

September 26, 2011
Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint

Gauging the economic impact of any sporting event is tricky.

When it’s uncertain who the teams will be, it’s even trickier.

Most economists and sports business experts would agree the economic impact of the Super Bowl and Big Ten Football Championship will be considerable.

Estimates peg the economic impact of the Big Ten Championship at $17 million to $20 million. The Super Bowl is much larger, with an economic impact of $300 million to $450 million.

The more savvy sports business followers will tell you that the teams that play in those games will have a major impact on the visitor spending those events bring to the host city.

Lucas Oil Stadium will host the Big Ten Championship in December and the Super Bowl in February. In this week’s IBJ print edition, Robert Tuchman, whose New York-based company has handled corporate entertainment at scores of Super Bowls, estimated that the economic impact on Indianapolis could swing more than 30 percent depending on the teams that play.

Most sports business experts surveyed by IBJ agreed that the best teams to make it from the NFC would be the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys.

The Bears and Lions are ideal due to their proximity to Indianapolis. Detroit also is good because it has never played in a Super Bowl, and the theory is that many Lions fans would come to Indianapolis just to experience the atmosphere even if they couldn’t get tickets. And as Tuchman pointed out, they eat in Indy’s restaurants, shop in our stores and sleep in our hotels whether they go to the game or not.

Mark Rosentraub, a dean at the University of Michigan, said that if the Lions make the Super Bowl, half the state of Michigan would drive down to Indianapolis.

The Bears and Cowboys would be good teams because they have national followings. Also, the Cowboys haven’t been to a Super Bowl since 1996, and Big D is hungry for a winner.

Demographics, too, are key, and there are plenty of wealthy people in Chicago and Dallas. That element probably hurts Detroit a bit with the auto industry fallout.

The AFC is a little trickier.

The consensus is the New York Jets would be the best team. First, because New York is so big, the Jets have a huge following. There’s also lots of money in New York, and on top of that, the Jets haven’t been to the Super Bowl since 1969.

While there’s money in New England, Patriots fans spoiled by four Super Bowls in the last decade simply don’t travel like fans for other AFC hopefuls, and people in that New England region aren’t likely to come to Indy in February—certainly not without tickets just to enjoy the atmosphere.

Baltimore fans traveled in droves to Tampa when the Ravens made the Super Bowl in 2001. But there’s still a big question about whether Ravens fans would to travel to Indy, the city that stole its beloved Colts. Most sports business experts think Ravens fans would overlook the Colts history for a shot to see the Ravens in the big game again.

As witnessed Sunday night, Pittsburgh fans have no hesitation to make the drive to Indy for a football game, and the Steelers have a national following. But since the Steelers made the Super Bowl last year, that takes a little polish off that possibility.

So if Indianapolis’ tourism and hospitality industry were rooting for Super Bowl contenders based merely on economic impact, everyone from bar managers to bell hops might be decked out in green and white or blue and orange.

As for the Big Ten Championship game, one local tourism official told me red might be the color to cheer for.

A match-up between Wisconsin and Nebraska has a lot of people in Indianapolis pretty excited right now—from an economic impact perspective.

ADVERTISEMENT

Post a comment to this blog

COMMENTS POLICY
We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
 
You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
 
Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
 
No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
 
We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
 

Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

ADVANCED SEARCH
Sponsored by
ADVERTISEMENT

  1. Many serial killer types and psychopaths work as lowly bureaucrats, just waiting to impose their wrath on a powerless person, child, or pet. Don't forget, the BTK killer was a dog catcher.

  2. If a television station wants to improve viewership, get rid of the local blackout. I was born by the brickyard, and have attended 15 or more races. I have children now, I won't attend unless circumstances are perfect. As those with growing families know, they never are. I'm always impressed that upwards of 250,000 people attend the 500. However, as a growing, or, more apt, sprawling city, Indianapolis and its immediate suburbs count almost 2.2 million. Show the race live, let the venue get a kick-back on revenues, and open-wheel racing might have a fighting chance to be relevant again. Just in time for those tax-payer lights to make sense.

  3. John Moore, I too have had the same issue recently. A property next to my house was on the Land Bank and I was interested in purchasing. When I tried to contact Reggie, I got back emails that had nothing to do with what I asked about. Actually my latest response from him was on this past Friday. I had asked about how to buy the property and if it was still available. His response to me was to contact the mayor's office to get the schedule of his appearances. (???) Hopefully the city is able to do something to fix what this guy has done, it would be nice if they would take the properties back and sell them properly so land owners like me and you mother would have a fair chance.

  4. I too work in the industry, with over 25 years of experience and your political spin has probably nothing to do with any rebranding. "Let's dress it up" would have nothing to do with the government "telling us how and what to eat." Give it a political rest. And being a producer for a radio show doesn't mean you've been involved in advertising and branding for 30 years.

  5. Ms. Morris did not understand the ways of the business world, otherwise, like the IMS, she could have petitioned the State Legislature for a handout of State Funds for her charity work. Ms. Morris should consider becoming a state lobbyist for Lemonade Stand Operators.

ADVERTISEMENT