NCAA Tournament Injects Multi-Million Dollar Boost Into Wichita's Economy
Wichita, Kan. (KSNW) – The downtown area of Wichita transformed into a lively hub as the city welcomed numerous enthusiasts last week during an event that drew thousands of visitors. NCAA Tournament .
Craig Compton, a research economist at Wichita State University, states that the tournament provided a significant multi-million dollar uplift to Wichita’s economy.
"The overall feeling is that this event was successful," Compton stated.
Initial findings from WSU economists indicate approximately $4.3 million in economic activity occurred between March 19 and 22.
We utilize a foot traffic analytics tool that enables us to monitor where individuals are within specific areas at any given moment," explained Compton. "This helps us assess how often particular places are traversed during various times.
Compton mentioned that this encompasses expenditure from visitors outside of the state, along with contributions from vendors, nearby enterprises, accommodations, and transport services.
We had more than 14,000 visitors come from beyond the 50-mile perimeter," Compton stated. "This brought significant crowds from distant places. These tourists contributed fresh capital to our city center’s financial ecosystem.
Compton stated that the event created a domino effect on the local economy, enhancing various aspects such as gratuities and tax collections. According to him, one-fourth of the income generated during the tournament was utilized for paying the salaries of Wichita residents.
"The reality was that since we didn’t have any local teams, about 53% of attendees traveled from outside of town, which boosted those businesses beyond their usual levels," explained Compton.
He mentioned that this demonstrates the city’s capability to draw tourists and successfully organize major gatherings.
These figures are provisional and do not include all expenses incurred during attendance at events held at Intrust Bank Arena.
The venue plans to unveil its official statistics in the following weeks. Nevertheless, KSN has learned that approximately 43,000 individuals attended both the initial and secondary stages of competitions, whereas around 3,500 made use of the available public area at no cost.
"This year’s NCAA Tournament games proved successful in attracting thousands of visitors to Wichita, which had a beneficial effect on our local area. Moreover, the extensive TV coverage nationwide and the chance to enhance our partnership with the NCAA are priceless," stated Josh Howell, who serves as the vice president of sports development at Visit Wichita.
In 2018, our estimate was around $5.5 million; however, more recent host cities have seen a direct economic impact ranging between $5 to $10 million. To ascertain this year's effect, we plan to undertake a study akin to the one conducted in 2018.
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