Pac-12: A Win for Utah’s Economy

Economic Impact and Visitor Experience of

University of Utah Football
Summer 2013
 Pac-12: Impact
Economic Impact and Visitor Experience of
University of Utah Football

The 2012 football season, while having mixed results on the field, was extremely successful off the field.
The economic impact of the season surpassed the previous year and opposing out-of-state attendees
continue to view their visit as a positive experience. The findings come from a study of University of Utah
football conducted by the University of Utah’s Center for Public Policy & Administration (CPPA) and the
Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BEBR). The multi-year research project analyzes out-of-
state ticket sales, television revenues, and data collected through on-site interviews of out-of-state fans to
determine the overall impact of Utah’s membership in the Pac-12.

ECONOMIC IMPACT HIGHLIGHTS

• 1,056 – Average Pac-12 per-game out-of-state fan attendance during 2012 football season. This
includes four Pac-12 home games compared to five home games in the previous season.

• 2 times – Average out-of state attendance at University of Utah football homes games has doubled
since joining the Pac 12.

• $2.3 million – Estimated amount out-of-state fan attendees spent on goods and services in Utah. This
figure is significantly lower from the 2011 season, but the decrease is largely attributed to one fewer
Pac-12 home games and nearly 2,100 fewer out-of-state attendees in 2012.

• $8 million – Expected television revenues under the Pac-12 for the 2012 season, which accounts for
nearly 78 percent of all revenue. This is an increase of $5 million over the 2011 season and nearly $7
million more than under the Mountain West Conference.

• $10.3 million – Estimated sum of expenditures for out-of-state attendees and television revenues in
2012, an increase of $1.8 million from the 2011 season. This is projected to support approximately 275
jobs with earnings of over $6.6 million and approximately $660,000 in state tax revenue.

VISITOR EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS:

Out-of-state fans describe Utah football fans as extremely welcoming and the majority is likely to return for
a future stay. Moreover, many fans say their impression of the University of Utah is more favorable after
their visit.
• Welcome-Wagon 87 percent of respondents were well or very well received by Utah fans.
• Return Flight 62 percent of respondents are more likely to return to visit Utah.
• Changing Minds 98 percent of respondents whose impressions of the University were changed
because of their visit, view the University of Utah more favorably now.

1
INTRODUCTION
Results of a study of the 2012 University of Utah football season provide an estimate of the positive
economic impact of the school’s affiliation with the Pac-12 Conference. The study is a continuation of
research begun in the 2011 football season by the University of Utah’s Center for Public Policy &
Administration (CPPA) and the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BEBR). In addition to gauging
the economic effects of Pac-12 membership, general information regarding visitors’ experience was also
measured.
This report is a product of a target-intercept survey of out-of-state attendees conducted at each of the four
Pac-12 home games during the 2012 football season. For research purposes, an “out-of-state attendee”
refers only to an attendee from outside Utah who is a fan of the opponent teams.
Data was collected under direct supervision of CPPA staff and with the assistance of the University of Utah
Athletic Department. The interviews of selected out-of-state fans were conducted prior to games at key
locations at Rice-Eccles Stadium, designated visitor tailgate areas, and on the UTA TRAX line to the
stadium. Interviewers received formal training on methods to approach and screen potential respondents
and detailed instructions were provided regarding completion of the survey form. To improve accuracy of
the data collected, only one person in a family or travel group participated in the study. The survey was
administered at all Pac-12 games though inclement weather restricted the ability to effectively gather data
at some of the games. No in-state fans or non-Pac-12 games are included in the analysis. The
questionnaire included details on travel party size, number of days and nights in Utah, spending estimates,
and general impressions of the University of Utah.
Economic estimates were prepared by BEBR utilizing economic data collected from the survey. The overall
1,2
sample for the analysis is 151 out-of-state attendees from a total of 4,223 out-of state fan tickets sold.

ECONOMIC IMPACT
The 2011 season analysis found that the initial move to the Pac-12
from the Mountain West Conference resulted in substantial
economic gains for the State of Utah. These economic gains further
increased during the 2012 season. This positive economic impact is
largely attributed to the higher television revenue the University of
Utah received.
The football program and associated home games yield economic
impacts to the State of Utah through expenditures in Utah by out-of-
state fans attending football games, television revenues to the
University of Utah, and improved perceptions of the state gained
3
through visitation.

1 The margin-of-error is +/- 7.8 percent.

2 The University of Utah makes tickets for fans of the opposing team available through that team’s ticket office. These ticket sales were
provided by the University of Utah’s Athletic Department for each of the four Pac 12 home games in the 2012 season. Although ticket
sales through opposing universities serve as the measure of the number of out-of-state attendees, we note that since tickets are also
available through secondary sources, out-of-state attendance estimates and associated economic impacts may be greater than
reported here.
3 The impacts are measured by the number of supported jobs (Jobs) and associated earning (Earnings), gross state product (GSP),
state economic output (Output), and state tax revenue (State Tax Revenue). Output is the gross value of all goods and services sold;
GSP is approximately the net value of goods and services sold. The measure of “jobs” reported is job years. A job year is one full-time
equivalent job for one year (or two half-time jobs for one year, or four half-time jobs for one-half year, etc.).

2
During the 2012 season, the University of Utah hosted four home games against Pac-12 opponents. In
order, these opponents were: The University of Southern California (USC), The University of California-
Berkeley (CAL), Washington State University (WAZU), and The University of Arizona (AZ). The average
travel party size to these Pac-12 games was 2.7 out-of-state fans that stayed in Utah an average of 2.9
nights.

Attendance
For a second season, out-of-state fan attendance is double that of football games during previous
membership in the Mountain West Conference (MWC). The total number of out-of-state attendees was
4,223 for the four Pac-12 home games.4 The average per-game out-of state attendance for the MWC
games was 1,056. Graph 1 displays ticket sales by game from Utah’s two Pac-12 football seasons. All
Pac-12 affiliated games exceeded the average ticket sales (546) during the MWC. However, the 2012
season ticket sales were relatively low compared to the 2011 season, which had a significant effect on the
economic impact numbers.

Out-of-State Fan Expenditures

Out-of–state attendees during the 2012 season spent an estimated $2.3 million on in-state goods and
services during their visit. This figure is significantly lower than the 2011 season. Calculations for the
economic impact are based on the estimate per-person per-day expenditures. The 2012 per-person per-
day expenditure of $204 is $39 less than the 2011 season estimate of $243. The lower per-person per-day
amount, one less Pac-12 home game, nearly 2,100 fewer out-of-state attendees, and fewer days per visit
5
all contribute to the lower overall out-of-state attendee expenditure for 2012.

4The economic impacts and visitor perceptions are based only on this subset of out-of-state attendees since ticket sales information
is not available for out-of-state attendees who are fans of the Utes. The impacts of out-of-state attendees who are fans of the
University of Utah are in addition to those presented in this report.
5
In both the 2012 and 2011 many survey responses were missing or questionable. In these cases, the responses were imputed from
the statistical relationships among the remaining data. In handling missing/questionable data values, this analysis employs a
methodology called "multiple imputation." In multiple imputation, the values that would have been observed had they not been
missing are predicted from a statistical model that applies to all the data. Multiple predictions are made for each missing value. The
analysis is based on the average of the predicted values. The predicted values are informed by known characteristics of the
respondent and by the relationships between non-missing data from all the other records.

3
Individual spending on specific categories in 2012, displayed in Table 1, did change from the 2011 season.
Differences include:
• Lodging - Visitor spending on lodging, $106, Table 1: Out-of-state attendee spending per-
accounts for 52 percent of the weighted- person per-day, travel and accommodations.
average per-person per-day spending. It is a 2012 2011
reported increase of $20 from 2011. Visitors 4,223 6,361
• Food - The most significant deviation for fan Average Days per Visit 2.8 3.2
spending behaviors is in food, which is a Lodging $106 $86
decrease from 39 percent to 18 percent of the
Food $37 $95

Spending
weighted-average per-person per-day
spending, or $58. Transportation $19 $35
• Transportation - Expenditures for ground Shopping and Other $42 $27
1
transportation (fuel, vehicle rental) decreased Total $204 $243
$16 per-person per-day spending from $35 in
2011 to $19 in 2012.

Modes of transportation used by out-of-state

Table 2: Out-of-state attendee travel and
accommodations. attendees are generally consistent between the
2011 and 2012 seasons (Table 2). Air travel
2012 2011
increases slightly as the primary mode of
Airplane 68% 63%
Transportation

transportation to the State of Utah for all out-of-state

R.V. 4% 1% attendees from 63 percent in 2011 to 68 percent in
Automobile 28% 33% 2012.
Other 0% 3% Regarding lodging, the number of out-of-state
Hotels/Motels 72% 73% attendees who report staying with friends or
R.V. 1% 1% relatives as their accommodations during their visit
Lodging

Friends/Relatives 15% 25% is significantly down from the 2011 season. This
Other 9% 1% likely contributes to the lower average days per visit
Not staying in Utah 4% - and overall level of expenditures. The percent of
hotel/motel use remains consistent from 2011.
Television Revenue
Although the 2012 season out-of-state attendees’
expenditures are significantly lower, the University’s television
revenues are significantly higher than in 2011. Television
revenues for the 2012 season are estimated at $8.0 million,
which accounts for nearly 78 percent of all revenue. This is an
increase of $5 million from the 2011 season and $6.8 million
more than under the Mountain West Conference.
Total Impact
Expenditures for out-of-state attendees and television
revenues sum to $10.3 million in 2012 (Table 3). This is
estimated to support approximately 275 jobs with earnings of
more than $6.6 million and approximately $660,000 in state
tax revenue.

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While the 2012 season did have overall lower attendance and fewer games, the total revenue (visitor
expenditures and television revenue combined) increased from $8.5 in 2011 to $10.3 million and created
65 more jobs in 2012. This is an increase of $1.4 million in earnings and $147,000 in state tax revenue.
The 2012 season’s increase in revenues, and associated economic benefits, supported by the University
of Utah’s growing share of television should continue to grow in coming seasons. Although, 2012 visitor
expenditures are lower than the previous year, continued research of upcoming seasons should provide
adequate data to sufficiently reflect each visiting teams affiliated traveling fan bases and their economic
impact.

Table 3: Total Visitor Expenditures and Television Revenues for 2012 season

6 State Tax
Source Revenue Earnings Jobs GSP Output
Revenue
Visitor
$ 2,300,000 $1,078,910 41 $ 2,312,987 $ 4,120,958 $ 115,649
Expenditures
Television
$ 8,000,000 $5,515,075 234 $10,935,200 $18,727,200 $ 546,760
Revenues
Total $10,300,000 $6,593,985 275 $13,248,187 $22,848,158 $ 662,409

VISITOR EXPERIENCE
For a second year, fan visitors rate their experience as very positive. The 2012 out-of-state fans describe
the Utah football fans as very welcoming. In total, 87 percent of all respondents report being well or very
well received by University of Utah fans. This good reception by Utah fans likely contributes to 43 percent
of all respondents having a changed impression of the University of Utah, of which the vast majority (98%)
was more or much more positive.

6
Output is the value of all goods and services produced in the economy, including the value of goods and services used as
intermediate inputs in the production of final goods and services. The value of final goods and services thus embodies the value of
their intermediate inputs. Subtracting the value of intermediate inputs from the value of final goods and services gives the value
added through production. This value added approximates the gross state product, which is what it is called in the table. Gross state
product is the state-level analog of the widely reported gross domestic product at the national level.

5
This positive visitor experience is further validated with 62 percent of all out-of-state attendees who say
they are more likely to return to Utah in the future. Only one-in-four respondents (28%), however,
acknowledge they would return specifically to watch their team play basketball. While most respondents
have been to Utah previously (78%), 22 percent report it being their first visit. These first-time visitors are
more likely to return to Utah (70%) than those who have been to the state before.
When asked about the academic reputation of the University of Utah, nearly half (48%) give a good or very
good rating. Most respondents (51%) could not give a positive or negative rating, many saying they are not
“familiar” enough with the University to know about the academics at the institution. Interestingly, several
fans commented that they are not familiar with the school but the University’s inclusion in the Pac-12 to
them means the school has high quality academics. Only one-in-five respondents (22%) indicate they are
more familiar with academics at the University of Utah since they joined the Pac-12. As the length of the
University’s membership in the Pac-12 increases, out-of-state fans will likely become more familiar with the
school and its academic programs and achievements.

CONCLUSION
The 2012 season for the University of Utah continues to build on the successful and economically
beneficial transition to the Pac-12. Specifically, the further increases in the University’s share of television
revenues will provide an economic impact previously unachievable. Additionally, the visitor experience
from out-of-state attendees continues to be a highlight and can spur future economic gains. The
overwhelming positive welcome by University of Utah fans seems likely to generate added interest in out-
of-state fans returning in future years for football games and other reasons.