As tourism officials predicted back in October, the Philadelphia Phillies' playoff games hosted at Citizens Bank Park had a significant economic impact on the city and its businesses, reports the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau announced Wednesday that the games generated a combined economic impact of $78 million and a $49 million direct spend in the city.
For the World Series, tourism officials in Houston projected that each game would have an economic impact of between $12 million and $14 million. If Philadelphia saw similar numbers, more than half of the total economic impact of the Phillies' postseason run could've come from the city's three World Series games alone.
One local business that received a big boost from the Phillies was Aramark. The food services company reported record sales and per capita spending on food and merchandise at Citizens Bank Park during the World Series games in Philadelphia, including 7,000 pounds of meat sold for cheesesteaks, reports PBJ.com.
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Data from Tourism Economics shows that the city hosted approximately 34,000 visitors resulting in 35,000 hotel room nights throughout the three playoff rounds. When the Phillies hosted the National League Championship Series, the average hotel occupancy rate in Center City was 90%.
PBJ.com spoke to Larry Needle, executive director the Convention and Visitors Bureau's PHL Sports division, about the city's performance during these games and what it means about successfully hosting large sporting events in the future.
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