By Daniel Stefanski |
A local team’s unexpected run to the pinnacle of the baseball world has given its city an economic boon.
The Arizona Diamondbacks weren’t expected to go too far during the 2023 Major League Baseball postseason, but the team has proven its doubters and detractors very wrong over the past few weeks, reaching the World Series for the first time since 2001. This journey through October provides an infusion of tens of millions of dollars to the City of Phoenix and the State of Arizona, giving the local economy millions of extra reasons to cheer on their team.
Glenn Farley, the Arizona Director of Policy & Research for the Common Institute, published a piece about the expected economic impact for the region based on the hometown team’s surge through the playoffs. He wrote that “because the events are unplanned and non-competitive, the typical costs associated with attracting and hosting a major event are largely missing during a World Series, and successful hosting depends on a cities natural economic base and infrastructure rather than disposable infrastructure developed specifically for the event.”
Farley pointed out that the State of Arizona’s sports and tourism sector “employs 167,000 people,” and that “those tourism and hospitality workers were already on hand to support visitors and consumers for the unexpected World Series windfall.”
The economic benefits of the World Series in Arizona follow a busier-than-normal year for the Valley’s national sports scene. Researchers from Arizona State University found that the January Fiesta Bowl for college football garnered $170 million, the February Phoenix Open for golf another $277 million, and the February Super Bowl for the NFL topped out at $1.3 billion. The first full Cactus League Spring Training season since 2019 also brought hundreds of millions of dollars to Arizona towns and cities. In addition, Arizona hosted an early round of the World Baseball Classic back in March.
Researchers also have shared that the two cities that hosted the World Series in 2022 earned $68 million and $78 million, respectively, from economic spending attached with their team’s individual trips to the Fall Classic.
In his post, Farley added, “The state’s impending successful hosting of a World Series, following a Super Bowl and during an ongoing recovery for the state’s conventions and tourism, is another opportunity to celebrate its success in cultivating a robust and diverse local economy – including young and healthy infrastructure, a large and perennial tourism industry, and an innovative approach to taxes and regulations that supports business development.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
