● From our sister site, TheSportsExaminer.com ●
A post-event analysis of the Oregon22 World Athletics Championships held at the University of Oregon in Eugene showed a total economic impact of $153.4 million and a total impact – including media exposure – of $237.4 million.
The study was received in January, prepared by Nielsen Sports for Travel Oregon, but had not been publicly released. It showed five drivers of direct spending impact on the Eugene-Springfield community:
● $45.0 million: Accommodations
● $29.8 million: Net organizing committee spend
● $10.0 million: Food & Beverage
● $7.4 million: Retail and Leisure spending
● $4.3 million: Local transportation
That’s $96.8 million, and with a multiplier of 1.59 for the counties impacted for induced economic impact, for an added $56.9 million, and a total of $153.4 million.
The report stated that the Oregon22 organizing committee budget was for $75.0 million on the event; the largest budgeted expenses were for:
● $14.0 million: Athlete experience
● $14.0 million: Broadcasting
● $9.9 million: Administration and staff
● $7.7 million: Event management
● $4.9 million: Event services
● $7.0 million: Contingency
Of the $75.0 million total, an estimated $47.6 million (73%) was spent in the local, Oregon economy. Nielsen removed $17.8 million in ticket sales, leaving a net local organizing spend of $29.8 million. Please remember that the State of Oregon subsidized or obtained $40 million in funds for the event.
Worldwide media exposure, a major reason for Oregon’s spend, came in with a total of $89.3 million in value:
● $59.3 million: television exposure
● $19.3 million: online exposure
● $7.2 million: social media exposure
● $3.5 million: print media exposure
Nielsen calculated that the state of Oregon received $19.3 million worth of direct exposure from its many commercials on broadcasts in various countries.
The report noted athlete and team officials approval of the event at 70%, lower than the 78% for the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade (SRB) earlier in 2022. Only 30% were able to visit local tourist attractions during the meet; they were busy at the track.
There were 150,000 ticketed spectators, of which 84% came from the U.S.; 49% of all spectators were from Oregon and 17% from the rest of the U.S. Of the 16% from outside the U.S., the majority were from Canada, but there were visitors from 37 nations.
The event had 1,585 volunteers, who provided an estimated 152,160 hours of services, worth about $2.1 million.
There’s a lot more to unpack from the report; stay tuned for more.
~ Rich Perelman
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