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Phoenix Spent Nearly $3.5 Million On Direct Super Bowl Expenses

Super Bowl ball
(Photo by Tracy Greer - KJZZ)
Super Bowl ball in downtown Phoenix.

Direct expenses which included things like police, paramedics and street barricades added up to $3.36 million, according to the report. 

While sales tax revenue increased $4.94 million for January and February 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, the report said it is tough to draw conclusions about exactly how much Super Bowl events generated. 

That’s because retailers report monthly, not daily taxes collected, and they are not required to report why people are spending money. The report also said there is no hard evidence that can be relied upon to determine baseline lines absent the Super Bowl.

When it comes to city staff time working on Super Bowl activities, the report listed $4.45 million as a base cost that the city would have spent even without Super Bowl. In a nutshell, the report said city employees would have been working anyway so the Super Bowl did not cause or impact this expense in any way.

Other report highlights:

  • Average daily hotel rates increased 144 percent.
  • Visits to visitphoenix.com increased 44 percent in January and February 2015.
  • The Downtown Visitor Information Center's walk-in traffic increased Super Bowl week from 565 in 2014 to nearly 5,500 in 2015.
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As a senior field correspondent, Christina Estes focuses on stories that impact our economy, your wallet and public policy.