According to Todd Sanders, CEO and President of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, it’s too soon to know exactly how much money visitors left in the Phoenix economy in the days leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl, but it easily exceeded a half billion dollars.
“It’s anecdotal at this point,” Sanders said. “I think from what we’re hearing from not only large entities, but also small businesses that were a part of this in downtown Phoenix as well as Glendale, Scottsdale, and everywhere in between – last time we had the Super Bowl in 2015, the economic impact was about $700 million.”
Sanders believes a conservative estimate from the 2023 Super Bowl will be at least $600 million, a number Las Vegas could easily shatter.
“You guys are the kings of entertainment,” Sanders said. “So, I think from that perspective, you’re in a really good spot.”
“I’ve been to Allegiant Stadium. I mean – it’s incredible,” he added. “And you just know how to welcome people, so I have a feeling Vegas is going to do very well.”
Allegiant Stadium is just the beginning of the capability Las Vegas has to host a Super Bowl. It’s able to easily accommodate the 300,000 visitors who come in for New Year’s Eve. Las Vegas knows how to host really big events.
“We do that better than anybody,” said economist Mike PeQueen. “That’s what we’re built for,” he added, and the NFL knows it.
“We have all of the infrastructure here to really host quickly, and take care of a large group of very happy, very excited, very affluent people. That’s what we do. So I think that we’re uniquely positioned to have perhaps the most profitable Super Bowl of any city in recent years.”
Those visitors won’t just be leaving money in restaurants, hotels, bars, and shows. They’ll also be adding to the existing stream of tax revenue into several different coffers.
“It’s clear that when people spend money in restaurants, they’re going and gasoline, they’re going to pay sales tax,” said PeQueen. “Remember, we have the room tax that is part of our revenue mix. We also have something called the live entertainment tax, which the ticket sales of the Super Bowl will be subject to, which could be by some estimates as much as $20 million or more.”
Sanders believes Las Vegas will also be able to take advantage of the Super Bowl to help create permanent jobs in the months and years beyond the end of the game. That’s because the game serves as a tremendous way to extend an invitation to those in the business community, allowing the host city to show off its amenities.
“We had, I think, about 140 CEOs from targeted companies around the world come to Phoenix, experience what we have to offer with the idea that we want them to think about bringing companies to Arizona and creating new jobs.” Sanders believes Las Vegas can also provide a similar showcase and serve as an opportunity to make our economy more diverse.
“Having spent some time in Vegas and the surrounding areas, people should also experience everything that Vegas has to offer off the Strip,” Sanders said. “And there’s so much there in the outdoors. It’s just spectacular. So I hope that they take the time to have some fun downtown and the Strip, but also to get outside of Vegas and experience everything that you will have to offer and stay for a while and spend some money there because I think there’s so much there.”