Florida sports blockbusters in 2020

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Super Bowl LIV

Feb. 2, Hard Rock Stadium

• Attendance — Super Bowl organizers project 52,000 out-of-state adult fans, 1,100 youth and 250 players, coaches, trainers and officials, plus 2,000 media.
• Spending — Assuming — as a grant application for $1.5 million to the state Sports Foundation does — an average adult daily spend of $444 ($222 for the youth), out-of-state visitors will drop $106.1 million during their stay. That brings in $5.8 million in sales tax. Assuming they need 25,000 rooms for an average of four nights at $500 a night the visitors will spend $50 million on lodging, bringing in $3 million in bed taxes.
• Context — Of course, it’s not as if all those beds would be empty in South Florida in February if the Super Bowl weren’t here. For comparison purposes, Broward’s bed tax revenue bumped up 14% in February 2010, the last time the Super Bowl was held in Miami, compared to February the year before. In Miami-Dade, the increase in revenue from the convention, food and beverage and other tourism-related taxes was 30.08%, to $10.8 million, says Allen Eagle, convention and tourist tax manager for Miami-Dade’s tax collector division.

2020 WWE WrestleMania 36

April 5, Raymond James Stadium

• Attendance — In 2017, when World Wrestling Entertainment held WrestleMania in Orlando, boosters projected 30,277 out-of-state adult fans and 5,343 youth from out of state.
• Spending — Projections had the adults spending an average of $156 a day and the youths $78. Throw in out-of-state participants and 475 media and the out-of-state spend comes to $20.9 million — generating about $1.26 million in sales tax.
• The 12,061 hotel rooms needed, for on average four nights, at $124 per night, brings in $5.98 million to hotels and $358,935 in bed tax revenue.
• Context — After the event, WWE put out numbers that argue those projections were modest. WWE says WrestleMania that year drew 75,245 fans from inside and outside Florida. Some 79% of fans — that would be 59,443 people — came from outside Orlando and stayed 5.6 nights on average bringing $24.8 million to lodging owners.

Daytona 500

Feb. 16

• Attendance — Daytona’s Speedweeks encompasses the Daytona 500 and other events running from late January to Feb. 16, when the 500 runs. The Daytona 500 has sold out annually since 2016. That’s 101,500 seats in the grandstand. The event doesn’t disclose infield attendance but says 60% of attendees at the 500 are from out-of-state.
• Spending — A 2017 study for the Halifax Area Advertising Authority said the direct impact on the local economy is $101.6 million.
• Context — Interestingly, February is Daytona’s third-best month for tourism. Since 2011, March — after the Daytona 500 — has generated more bed tax revenue than February. March has Bike Week and spring break to fill hotels. Last year, for example, January brought in $952,599 in bed tax revenue. February brought in $1.26 million, the third-best month of the year, but March brought in $1.6 million, the best month. (July revenue was better than February). The same pattern held for convention development tax revenue.

Read more in Florida Trend's December issue.

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Tags: Floridian of the Year, Feature