The NCAA Men's Final Four, which will take place at the Alamodome in late March and early April, will mean a $185 million boost to the local economy, according to a study released by the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Economist Steve Nivin of the SABER Research Institute figured in an influx of 93,000 out of town visitors, resulting in increased spending at local hotels, restaurants, retail stores, and entertainment venues.
This is an increase of $138 million from the Final Four hosted in San Antonio in 2008, demonstrating how the event has grown.
While the national semi-final and championship games are the main draw of the weekend, the city will host a number of Final Four-oriented events, many of which will be free to the public, including the March Madness Music Festival and Final Four Dribble.
The San Antonio Local Organizing Committee (SALOC), which is a partnership between the City of San Antonio, San Antonio Sports, and UTSA, has a strong history of hosting successful NCAA Championships that have generated hundreds of millions of dollars for the San Antonio economy, including three previous Men’s Final Fours (1998, 2004, 2008), two Women’s Final Fours (2002, 2010), two Women’s Division I Volleyball Championships (2005, 2011) and several regional basketball tournaments.