Jeremy Jordan believes Philadelphia could see an economic impact of more than $80 million when the city hosts the National Football League’s draft next year.
That coincides with city officials, who said they expect the three-day event to be held on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to attract more than 200,000 people to the city and generate $86 million for the region.
Jordan, a professor at Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management, made his estimate based on his research of the draft’s impact on Chicago — which hosted in 2015 and 2016.
“What we found was over the two years that Chicago hosted the draft the economic impact was consistent,” said Jordan, who is also director of Temple’s Sports Industry Research Center. “It was $81 million and about the same amount the second year. That’s based on non-locals coming in and spending money at hotels, restaurants and stores. Philadelphia and Chicago have a lot of similarities, so I would anticipate the economic impact number would be similar. There no reason to think its would not be.
“There’s quite a bit of media attention on the event and a lot of showcasing for the host city,” he said. “[ESPN’s] SportsCenter and the NFL Network spent a week highlighting Chicago as a destination, and I think Philadelphia should expect the same thing.”
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