INDIANAPOLIS – The 2006 NCAA Men’s Final Four had an estimated economic impact of more than $40 million for the city of Indianapolis, according to a study conducted by Indiana University researchers.

Since its relocation to Indianapolis in 1999, the NCAA has generated over $629 million for the Central Indiana region and state of Indiana. 

For the 2006 NCAA Men’s Final Four, the $40 million-plus economic impact includes visitor spending of $39.3 million and additional organizational spending locally by the NCAA and the Indianapolis Local Organizing Committee (ILOC) estimated at over $1 million.  Such NCAA and ILOC spending covers items like décor, transportation, Hoop City, the Men’s Final Four Salute Presentation, the Big Dance at Monument Circle and other expenditures that would not have occurred had the Men’s Final Four not been held in Indianapolis.

The $40 million-plus economic impact is based on the results of interviews with Men’s Final Four visitors during the April 1-3 event. It represents more than a $10 million increase over the last Men’s Final Four to take place in Indianapolis in 2000, which was estimated to have a $29.5 Million economic impact at that point in time.

Local economic impact is expected to grow significantly when the Men’s Final Four returns in 2010 because the event will shift from the RCA Dome, where seating capacity was 43,800, to the new Lucas Oil Stadium, which has been designed to hold as many as 70,000 fans for the Men’s Final Four.   The stadium will also be the venue for the 2009 men’s Regional and the 2011 Women’s Final Four. 

Researchers Lawrence S. Davidson and Bruce L. Jaffee from Indiana University’s Department of Business Economics and Public Policy, who conducted the study, emphasize that the $39.3 million figure is based on new direct expenditures by visitors during the Men’s Final Four. It does not include any of the so-called “multipliers” cited by some cities when measuring the economic impact of events.

“Our approach leads to a conservative measure of economic impact,” Davidson and Jaffee wrote in the study’s executive summary. “We do not consider any spending by persons living in Indianapolis nor do we count any spending on game tickets.”

The conservative $40 million impact also does not include direct spending from media or corporate sponsors — spending that likely contributed several million dollars of additional impact during the event.

• The Men’s Final Four attracted 44,392 visitors to Indianapolis.
• Thirty-eight percent of those visitors were coming to Indianapolis for the first time.
• Seventy-eight percent of those visitors were college graduates with an average household income of nearly $135,000.
• The average visitor stayed 4.1 days and spent an average of $227.84 per day.
• Visitors spent 33.9 percent of that money on food and entertainment, 28.1 percent on lodging and 20 percent on souvenirs and other shopping. The remainder was spent on goods and services such as rental cars, parking and taxis.
• Visitors rated Indianapolis highly, especially in the areas of safety, quality of athletics facilities and friendliness, giving the city scores of 4.4 to 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5.

The NCAA’s overall economic impact of $629 million since 1999 is based on an annual economic impact of $63.7 million, as estimated by an independent study commissioned by the Indiana Sports Corporation and conducted by KPMG LLP Economic Consulting Services. The figure also includes the 2006 and 2000 Men’s Final Fours; NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship first- and second-round games in 2003 and 2005; the 2005 Women’s Final Four; and two NCAA Conventions in 2002 and 2006.

Observations from:

Bart Peterson, mayor, City of Indianapolis:

“The economic impact results underscore the value of our carefully cultivated relationship with the NCAA and the decisions made many years ago to deliberately design our downtown and venues. As we now look forward to having NCAA events, including Men’s and Women’s Final Fours, on an annual basis, we know the positive impact on our community and region will grow ever larger.”

“Ten years ago, the NCAA sought to find a home that would serve our membership and its community well.  These results validate in yet another way that the commitment by the City of Indianapolis and State of Indiana were both visionary and meaningful for all involved. We look forward to building the future along side our neighbors, friends, and partners throughout the state.”

Jon LeCrone, co-chair, Indianapolis Local Organizing Committee; commissioner, Horizon League, institutional co-host; member, NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee:

"It is gratifying to know that, once again, our community has been the beneficiary of an NCAA championship event. In conjunction with Butler University, our fellow co-host, we are pleased to be able to partner with the NCAA, the Indiana Sports Corporation, the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, the Capital Improvement Board and our community sponsors to host Men's and Women's Final Fours, which regularly bring economic and public relations benefits to our area. We look forward to serving as hosts for the men's Regional in 2009, the Men's Final Four in 2010 and the Women's Final in 2011 at the new Lucas Oil Stadium."

Susan Williams, president, Indiana Sports Corporation:

“This is yet another example of the public-private partnership that has and continues to produce significant benefit for Indianapolis. We look forward to partnering with event co-hosts Butler University and the Horizon League in the years to come as our agreement with the NCAA will bring not only world-class sporting events to Indianapolis on a consistent basis, but will also infuse millions of dollars into our local economy.”

Bob Bedell, president and CEO, Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association:

“The study re-confirms that the Men’s Final Four is both a great sporting event and a highly valuable property for the hospitality industry and its 78,000 employees. Bringing more than 44,000 visitors to the city, 38 percent of whom were visiting Indianapolis for the first time, also represents a tremendous opportunity to generate future leisure and business travel.”

The NCAA is a membership-led non-profit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 360,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 49,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Division I, II and III sports. For more information, go to www.ncaa.org.