Since we all can’t seem to get enough of this new stadium in San Diego talk, let’s take a look at some interesting information from Phoenix, site of the latest Super Bowl.
On Wednesday the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee released its count of visitors for Super Bowl XLIX. According to their attendance numbers, in the five days leading up to the game, Downtown Phoenix hosted more than one million visitors in the 12-block outdoor fan campus anchored by Verizon Super Bowl Central.
“We exceeded our expectations, with 1,015,000 visitors from around the world and the region turning out in downtown Phoenix to celebrate the spirit of Arizona and Super Bowl XLIX,” said Jay Parry, President and CEO of the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee.
The Host Committee claims an awful lot of those people stayed and spent money in local establishments. According to numbers compiled by Smith Travel Research, hotel occupancy in Phoenix and the surrounding areas for Thursday, January 29 through Sunday, February 1 was 40-percent above the same time period the previous year.
On Saturday night before the game, 96-percent of hotel rooms were filled, the highest Reservation per Available Room ever recorded for metro Phoenix’s hotels.
“The number of people in Phoenix for these events was unprecedented, and I believe we soon will see tangible economic results for the city, the region and the state,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said.
Other activities of note had an impact on Arizona include:
- More than $2 million being donated to 27 local non-profit organizations by the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, Host Committee partners and the NFL.
- 170 trees were planted in public parks throughout the region.
- 33,000 new and gently used sports equipment items and books were collected through Super Kids-Super Sharing event.
- 23,782 pounds of electronics were collected at an E-Waste Recycling Rally.
There will be more studies and information released in the coming weeks, but this looks like a good start for an area that is nowhere near as well equipped as San Diego is to host an event as big as the Super Bowl.
