Economic impact of Tech football games: $69 million

Virginia Tech’s home football games have a $69 million economic impact each year, according to a study conducted by the school.

The analysis found that football games’ economic impact had tripled in the past 15 years, when the previous study was done.

The study found that the biggest spending each year was on hotels ($5.9 million), dining ($5 million), gasoline ($2.9 million), retail ($2.6 million) and groceries ($2.5 million).

“An unexpected finding was the impact on real estate,” Sarah Lyon- Hill, economic development specialist in the Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development, said in a statement.   “Based on fan surveys, we estimate that as many as 4,700 properties may be owned by football fans from outside the region. And our survey of the real estate community showed that Realtors believe about half of those properties belong to owners who bought these homes with the intent to regularly attend home games.”

The study also found that:

-Almost three quarters of restaurants, hotels, and retail outlets say they experience an average 15 to 30 percent revenue bump during home-game weekends.
-Churches, local governments and small nonprofit agencies benefit season, each organization bringing in from $500 to $12,000 in parking and other fundraising activities.

In addition to analyzing the Virginia Tech Athletics budget, researchers compiled data by sending questionnaires to businesses and surveying out-of-town football fans. Season ticketholders received online surveys, complemented by in-person questioning carried out at four home-game tailgates.

The study region covered the New River and Roanoke Valleys, composed of seven counties (Giles, Pulaski, Montgomery, Roanoke, Botetourt, Franklin, and Craig) and the independent cities of Radford, Roanoke, and Salem.