The NFL hasn’t yet demanded that a prospective city burn a pile of newborn puppies in a ritualistic sacrifice, just to land a Super Bowl.
But I’m sure they might be impressed with the gesture.
While I certainly understand the basic concepts of capitalistic supply and demand (yea, capitalism!) I also understand what the yiddish word “schnorrer” means.
So when the Minneapolis Star Tribune came upon the Stonecutters… er… National Football League’s documented “Super Bowl Bid Specifications and Requirements” that helped land the Twin Cities the “big game” in 2018, it opened the door to a world of greed that is truly breathtaking.
Never mind the fact that the Twin Cities and their associated business interests will likely take a punch to the face that week. Oh yeah, it’s been documented again and again, that host cities actually see the same or even a decline in business and tourism during the week of the “big game”.
“On the high side, there’s a $30 million impact. On the low side, it’s closer to zero,” said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and author of “The Bottom Line: Observations and Arguments on the Sports Business.”
The exaggeration, Zimbalist said, is created by flawed reasoning in the studies — mainly the revenue estimates assume no tourists would be flocking to these warm-weather host cities if not for the Super Bowl. After Miami last hosted the game in 1999, a study by the national firm PFK Consulting found the city’s hotel occupancy rate that January was only 3.25 percent higher than the combined January average of 1998 and 2000 when the Super Bowl was played elsewhere.
It should be added that there is little evidence that tourism increases during the Games. Rather, Olympic tourists replace normal tourists who want to stay away to avoid the congestion and greater expense during the Games.
Speaking of which, guess who is having a devil of time finding a sucker … er… city to host the 2022 Winter Olympics?
You got it.
When Poland taps out, and you are left with Almaty, Kazakhastan and Beijing, China as the two most viable options, then you know you have reached the point where the golden goose isn’t just dead, but it’s neck has been twisted into a pretzel.
Will this someday happen to the NFL?
Of course. But it’s going to take about 50 more years, because football ain’t ski jumping, and America’s appetite for the NFL is seemingly limitless.
But while you can, Roger Goodell, keep on demanding … er…. asking for… things like tee times in August, 180 person delegation “site visits” (to Minnesota!), free concrete barriers, fake t-shirt storm troopers, police escorts, preferred ATMs, and high end hospitality houses – with curbside parking!
Hey, as your dad always said: “It doesn’t hurt to ask…..”
5 Comments
TJ
Installation of ATMs that accept NFL preferred credit and debit cards and deactivation of ATMs that ”conflict with NFL preferred payment services.”
Seriously? That is a ballsy move right there.
HozelRockit
I wonder what the odds are that this revelation also torpedoes Minneapolis’ chances?
Strom
OK Steve, off the soap box again. No one truly knows the financial impact of hosting the “S-Bowl” (don’t think we are allowed to use the real name anymore? Copyright infringement or some dang thing) calculating all the tangibles/intangibles and I agree that other venues will avoid this period for a host of reasons setting up a potential loss in some geographical regions (per the study). Please go to MPLS in January or February. What will the S-Bowl be displacing there at this time….NOTHING!!!
I lived in Minnesota for 20 years. I can’t, for the life of me, find the logic in anyone wanting to go there at that time of year so that part I get. I know the weather patterns there and I figure it’s a 50/50 chance no one will ever want to host another event like this ever again in winter. For the love of God, bring on the global warming!
Rob
True dat, Czabe. I live in a Denver suburb, and Denver’s trying to land the RNC convention for 2016. They claim all this money will enter the metro area’s economy. Bullshit. I’m a technician at a dealership, wife is a teacher. Neither of us will feel any benefit from that beyond traffic that will be jolly well fucked. The industries that will get tangible benefit are cabs and limos, hotels, downtown restaurants, bars, bail bondsmen, hookers and weed shops.
Lewis
As always, it depends on how you define the capitalist “winner”. If said “winner” is the cities, well that is obvious a bad gamble. So much money spent on planning all for a single game seems poorly thought out. But if said “winner” is the sponsors, stadium owners, and NFL beneficiaries, then it is an obvious yes. Let’s all be honest, this is a great way for the league to get better stadiums, schmooze clients, and offer even better advertising packages. Everyone knows that Super Bowl tickets and hotel rooms are already long beyond the reach of the average American tourist. SB is corporate packaging at it’s finest.