Major League Baseball has announced that San Fransisco will host the 2007 All-star game.
It is likely to bring lots of visitors to San Fransisco, most of whom will spend lots of money there, some of which will be respent within the community setting off a minor multiplier effect. For more on the economic impacts of these one-time event see my paper, “Bread and Circuses”.
Will it really bring in 250,000 visitors?
Mayor Gavin Newsom, who also attended the news conference, said he thought
All-Star weekend would bring about 250,000 people to the city and could have a
financial impact of more than $80 million for San Francisco.
Will each of the visitors really add over $300 in new spending to the economy? I can imagine that some might spend thousands on hotel rooms and high-end meals, but these numbers must be wrong. Why would so many go to SF just to see the All-Star game when no more than a quarter that many can be admitted to the game? What, if anything, am I missing? Is the Mayor exaggerating the expected numbers? Or is there a typo in the original article?
