Super Bowl Economic Impact: What Can Atlanta Really Expect?

ATLANTA, GA -- This week's big news that Atlanta will host Super Bowl 53 is being touted by some as a massive economic boon to the region.

Not so fast, says an Emory Goizueta Business School expert.

"I've seen estimates that the game could bring as much as $400 million or $800 million into the local economy," said Dr. Tom Smith. "But let's bring that figure into a much more realistic orbit. I think its going to be around $40 million, and a lot of that has to do with where the money comes from."

Smith said any economic benefit will be derived from out-of-towners who spend money at venues like a Super Bowl village, an amenity that Atlanta created for its 2013 Final 4 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

"The city did an awesome job for its Final 4," Smith said. "It's one thing to get people who are not from here, to spend money here. But if it's just us, going out and spending money at a Super Bowl village instead of going to the movies or going bowling, that doesn't do the regional economy any good. It's just a transfer of wealth, and we really want this event to have a more far-reaching impact."

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Super Bowl 53 will be played at Atlanta's new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2019. Atlanta won the bid for the game on the fourth ballot. Tampa and Miami were eliminated during the early rounds, and the fourth round came down to between Atlanta and New Orleans.

Smith says the game's indirect impact is much more interesting, over the long term.

"Getting the Super Bowl with a new stadium is a good selling point when the mayor or governor or the chamber of commerce tries to convince people that Atlanta isn't some hick Southern town," he said. "The region still has that image.

"What I tell people is, Atlanta isn't in the South. You can get to the South from Atlanta, but we're not in the South. Getting the Super Bowl gives people who are trying to portray Atlanta as a great place to live and work, some legitimacy in their efforts."

Smith joined the Goizueta Business School faculty in 2008. He has held faculty positions at the University of Illinois–Chicago, National-Louis University, Loyola University, and North Central College. Smith received a PhD in labor and demography/cultural economics and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998.

The Atlanta Bid Committee, which was led by the Atlanta Sports Council, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, submitted the final bid on April 15. Doug Hertz, president and CEO of United Distributors and Rick Smith, chairman and CEO of Equifax Inc., served as the Bid Committee co-chairs and delivered the successful pitch to NFL owners today in Charlotte. Following the presentation, Arthur Blank privately addressed his peer owners prior to the vote.

“The bid process, which began over a year ago, involved several organizations around the community, and it’s extremely rewarding to see the collaborative effort and hard work pay off,” said Dan Corso, executive director of the Atlanta Sports Council. “We are excited to welcome NFL fans from around the world and showcase all that Atlanta has to offer as a first-class host city.”

The bid presentation was focused on the theme “Atlanta Transformed,” which highlighted the new infrastructure around the city since Super Bowl XXXIV and the $1.4 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, currently under construction in the heart of Atlanta. The Bid Committee also emphasized the unique qualifications that set Atlanta apart, such as the downtown walkability to hotels and world-class attractions like the College Football Hall of Fame, the Georgia Aquarium and National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Officials from the NFL visited Atlanta as part of the bid process in July 2015 and toured ancillary event venues, hotels, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium Preview Center and the construction site of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.