Every team in professional and college sports has championship aspirations. It is why they play their respective game. The teams aren't the only ones who benefit, though, as the cities that title games are held in see an impact -- and some more than others.
This is something that does not always receive much attention. The fact of the matter is that there will be major economic differences when a World Series or Super Bowl is hosted in a city like New York as compared to Kansas City.
With that being said, the smaller cities certainly reap the benefits of hosting big games. There are different impacts as well given which sport is being played. Today, we will be focusing on the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
In order to navigate through the economic differences of these sports in various cities, we will need to take a deep dive into the analysis. To start, we broke down data from Google Trends gauging the interest of fans during a time when a championship was held in their city.
Interest in Championships by City
The World Series just finished, with the Texas Rangers defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. The overall ratings for the game were brutal, with the '23 Fall Classic producing some of the worst ratings ever. However, how did the World Series fare in Texas and Arizona?
The state of Texas saw various spikes in its interest. Dallas had the most interest, with a massive overall spike in Game 5 despite it being played in Arizona.
Arizona's overall interest was less. There was a lot more interest in Game 4, but it died down after the Diamondbacks fell 3-1 in the series.
The Denver Nuggets won the NBA Finals. The city of Denver saw a huge spike in its interest during the months of May and June.
Of course, the Super Bowl produced plenty of interest in Kansas City during the month of February. The Chiefs have developed a passionate fanbase amid their budding dynasty.
So the interest in these sports' championships is present. But none of these cities necessarily hold huge markets in their respective sports. Even the Texas Rangers couldn't help MLB's World Series ratings.
So what were the economic impacts of these championships on their cities?
Economic Impacts on Championship Cities
Bars and restaurants tend to rake in a lot of money during championships in cities. An owner of a bar and grill in Arlington, Texas revealed the financial effect of the World Series on his restaurant, per Matthew Sgroi of keranews.org.
"This coming Friday night, we're talking about a difference of — minimum — $5,000 to $6,000 on top of what we normally end up doing on a Friday night," the restaurant owner said during the World Series.
In 2022, Houston tourism officials saw economic growth of around $13 million during the World Series, which featured the Houston Astros taking on the Philadelphia Phillies. The exact figure for the 2023 World Series wasn't provided, but it was likely similar.
How about Denver? After all, the Nuggets won the NBA Finals.
It's safe to say that the city of Denver benefited in a major way.
"Based on analysis from our chief economist from the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, we are anticipating a direct economic impact to the region of up to $25 million and a total impact of four times that amount," president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, J.J. Ament, said of the NBA Finals, via Andrew Lisa of Yahoo Finance.
Jobs
Another interesting element of everything is the jobs produced by championships. This is most present in the Super Bowl.
Although the Super Bowl is obviously only one game, the city hosting the big game begins preparing months in advance. There are events, parties, and more before the game.
Associate professor of Sports Management at the University of Delaware Tim DeSchriver commented on the Super Bowl's impact on the job market in a city, via lerner.udel.edu.
"You're primarily talking about service industry jobs," DeSchriver said. "You need that service when you have those crowds. So restaurant workers, hotel workers, Uber and Lyft drivers. Once the crowd goes away, they don't need those service workers, but that's still money in people's pockets. So even if they're temporary jobs, that's still important."
These temporary jobs are indeed important. The University of Delaware's Lerner Business & Economics reported that the 2022-23 Super Bowl, which took place in Los Angeles between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals, produced 2,200-4,700 new jobs.
Again, temporary jobs won't save a city or state's economy, but they help more than one may imagine. And this extends beyond the Super Bowl, with other sports championships leading to new jobs.
How About Winning a Championship?
Winning championships can lead to a spike in the economy. Even the Super Bowl, which is played in a random stadium and typically not either teams' home city (the Rams were an exception in 2022-23), can lead to a positive economic impact in a home city.
Fans are more likely to buy jerseys/apparel and the celebrations can last for a while. With that being said, winning a championship doesn't necessarily make a significant impact, despite the spike.
"It's a very nice thing for the city. I'm very happy for Tampa and for the residents of the Tampa Bay area, but in terms of being an engine for economic growth for the city, best not to count on it," Michael Leeds, a professor of Economics at Temple University, said about the city of Tampa Bay after the Rays, Buccaneers, and Lightning reached their sports' respective championships in 2020, via Devan Markham of newsnationnow.com.
Having good teams in a city certainly does not hurt. But Leeds doesn't believe it leads to major economic growth in a city.
Let's take a look at the numbers though. Tampa Bay's GDP reportedly increased $16.5 billion from 2019-2021, according to Jay Cridlin of the Tampa Bay Times.
This is a significant recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase isn't a direct impact of the city's winning sports teams, but again, one would imagine that they played some kind of role.
Summary
Sports certainly play a role in the economy of cities and states. Having a championship game in a city provides more than just excitement.
The financial element may be something that gets overlooked often, but it is interesting to dive into the data and analysis and see the impact on the economy.
