Allstate Sugar Bowl generates massive regional economic boost in 2023

Annual Football Bowl Game’s Annual Activities Produced $389.45 Million in Economic Impact

NEW ORLEANS (February 29) – The Allstate Sugar Bowl, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2023, had one of its most successful years in history as far as meeting its goal of serving as a major tourism booster and economic engine for New Orleans and Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl had its largest impact in over a decade thanks to its massive football game, a tremendously successful music event, and its range of other activities.

The Sugar Bowl’s activities over the past year, including the 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic which doubled as a College Football Playoff Semifinal on January 1, and the Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff on September 2, resulted in an economic impact of $389.45 million as reported in an official economic impact study produced by Timothy P. Ryan, Ph.D.

How Much is $390 Million Dollars?

“The Sugar Bowl’s mission for the past 90 years has been to drive tourism and economic impact for the city and state via its annual football classic, and the numbers reflected in this study show that we’re doing well by that mission,” said Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley. “Along with the consumer spending and direct tax dollars generated, the Allstate Sugar Bowl presents a powerful and nationally-visible platform for showcasing the best that New Orleans and Louisiana have to offer.”

In the last decade, the Allstate Sugar Bowl has produced an overall economic impact of $2.545 billion for New Orleans and Louisiana – this is without any economic numbers for 2020 as the majority of events were shut down due to COVID. In the 18 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, the Sugar Bowl’s economic impact is nearly four-and-a-half billion dollars.

Over the last decade, the Allstate Sugar Bowl has hosted and/or sponsored nearly 500 events. Since Katrina, it has injected an annual average of nearly $250 million into the region.

This year’s Allstate Sugar Bowl, featuring Big 12 representative Texas and Washington from the Pac-12, was sold-out with an attendance of 68,791 fans with over 68 percent of that group coming from outside the New Orleans area. The average length of stay for visitors to the game was 3.11 nights while each visitor spent an average of $2,101 during the visit.

The Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff, a new music event which featured legendary performer Garth Brooks, Louisiana’s own superstar Lainey Wilson, and the venerable Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had an attendance of 59,620 fans with 65 percent of that group coming from outside New Orleans.

In addition, the other activities of the Sugar Bowl brought nearly 35,000 more visitors to the New Orleans area over last year (through Jan. 1, 2024).

The total economic impact of the Allstate Sugar Bowl is the sum of the impacts of the annual football classic on January 1 plus the impact of the Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff and the other events the Bowl holds throughout the year.

In addition, the activities of the Allstate Sugar Bowl generated over $29 million in state and local tax revenue. Over the last decade, the overall tax dollars realized by the region add up to more than $190 million.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 107 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 90-year history. The 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2025. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting nearly $2.4 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit www.AllstateSugarBowl.org.