The Economic Impact of University of Michigan Football in the Ann Arbor Area

AEG used ticket information from the University of Michigan Athletic Department, accommodations data from the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and expenditures data to map attendee origins and estimate net new economic impacts on the Ann Arbor area. We defined net economic impact as the economic activity that would not have occurred if UofM home football games had not taken place in the Ann Arbor area. For the purposes of our analysis, the Ann Arbor area is defined as Washtenaw County.

During the 2013 football season, the University of Michigan hosted seven home games. Every home game in the 2013 season drew more than 107,000 attendees to the Big House. We also estimate that a number of fans came to Ann Arbor to tailgate and watch the games from local bars and restaurants. Based on ticket sale data, we estimate that total home game attendance throughout the season exceeded 781,000.

AEG estimated that visitorship related to University of Michigan home football games, including ticket holders, visiting team attendees, and visitors to the area that do not attend the games, brought over 632,000 visitors from outside of the Ann Arbor area and had a net economic impact of $81.8 million on the Ann Arbor area in 2013. Of the $81.8 million, $53.7 million was a direct economic impact, meaning that it was generated primarily from ticket sales, parking, concessions, food and drink before and after the game, accommodations, and other retail. The remaining $28.1 million was indirect economic impact, which means that it was generated through the circulation of spending throughout the local economy from the direct expenditures.

To read more about the AEG study of the economic impacts of University of Michigan football games, see the full MLive article here.