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Down, Set, Hike: The Economic Impact of College Football Games on Local Economies

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Baade

    (Department of Economics and Business, Lake Forest College)

  • Robert Baumann

    (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)

  • Victor Matheson

    (Department of Economics, College of the Holy Cross)

Abstract

This paper provides an empirical examination of the economic impact of spectator sports on local economies. Confirming the results of other ex post analyses of sports in general, this paper finds no statistically significant evidence that college football games in particular contribute positively to a host’s economy. Our analysis from 1970-2004 of 63 metropolitan areas that play host to big-time college football programs finds that neither the number of home games played, the winning percentage of the local team, nor winning a national championship has a discernable impact on either employment or personal income in the cities where the teams play. While successful college football teams may bring fame to their alma mater, fortune appears to be a bit more elusive.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2007. "Down, Set, Hike: The Economic Impact of College Football Games on Local Economies," Working Papers 0702, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hcx:wpaper:0702
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. McDonald P. Mirabile, 2015. "The Determinants of Attendance at Neutral Site College Football Games," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(3), pages 191-204, April.
    2. Dennis Coates & Craig A. Depken, II, 2008. "Do College Football Games Pay for Themselves? The Impact of College Football Games on Local Sales Tax Revenue," Working Papers 0802, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.
    3. Christelle Khalaf & G. Jason Jolley & Candi Clouse, 2022. "The Economic Impact of Small Colleges on Local Economies: A Guide to Attainable Data and Best Practices," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 36(1), pages 17-32, February.
    4. Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2007. "Big Men on Campus: Estimating the Economic Impact of College Sports on Local Economies," Working Papers 0704, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
    5. Robert Baade & Robert Baumann & Victor Matheson, 2011. "Big Men on Campus: Estimating the Economic Impact of College Sports on Local Economies," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 371-380.
    6. Gregory A. Falls & Paul A. Natke & Linlan Xiao, 2022. "College football attendance in the long run: The Football Championship Subdivision," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 2172-2183, September.
    7. Khalifa Al-Dosari, 2020. "The significance of mega sporting event on infrastructure development: A case of FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar," Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), , vol. 9(3), pages 1295-1319, July.
    8. Gonçalo Quintal & Gustavo Paipe & José Luis Felipe & Maria José Carvalho, 2016. "Strategic tool to estimate the consumption patterns of non-residents spectators at sporting events (Liga NOS): Adaptation to Portuguese reality," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 13(Special I), pages 102-120, November.
    9. Roberto Gásquez & Vicente Royuela, 2014. "Is Football an Indicator of Development at the International Level?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 827-848, July.
    10. Gregory A. Falls & Paul A. Natke, 2016. "College Football Attendance: A Panel Study of the Football Championship Subdivision," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(8), pages 530-540, December.
    11. Wladimir Andreff, 2014. "The Winner's Curse in Sports Economics," Post-Print halshs-01243890, HAL.
    12. Janhuba, Radek, 2019. "Do victories and losses matter? Effects of football on life satisfaction," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 75(PB).
    13. Wladimir Andreff, 2014. "The Winner's Curse in Sports Economics," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01243890, HAL.
    14. Paul A. Natke & Elizabeth A. Thomas, 2019. "Does a marching band impact college Football game attendance? A panel study of Division II," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(16), pages 1354-1357, September.
    15. Bernard F. Lentz & David N. Laband, 2008. "The Impact of College Athletics on Employment in the Restaurant and Accommodations Industries," Working Papers 0803, International Association of Sports Economists;North American Association of Sports Economists.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sports; football; college sports; impact analysis; mega-event;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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