Arizona State is also a big winner at the 2024 NCAA Men’s Final Four

The University of Connecticut wasn’t the only big winner at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in suburban Phoenix in April.

According to a study released Tuesday by Arizona State University’s Seidman Research Institute, the Final Four brought an economic impact of $429 million to the state of Arizona.

According to the study, the three-day event also contributed $256.9 million to Arizona’s gross domestic product.

UConn won its second consecutive NCAA title with a 75-60 victory over Purdue in the championship game on April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. North Carolina State and Alabama were semifinalists.

The championship game drew 74,423 fans, the third-largest attendance in Final Four history.

“I commend the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee and its stakeholders for bringing this windfall to Arizona,” Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said at a media event Tuesday.

“Major sporting events are critical to our state’s tourism sector. Basketball is a world sport, and the 2024 Men’s Final Four had the eyes of the world proudly on Arizona. Not only did it generate revenue, but it was also a powerful advertisement for our great state.”

The two Final Four tournament sessions – the semifinals were played on April 6 – attracted a total of 149,143 spectators.

The Seidman Institute found that the economic impact of the 2024 Final Four would be significantly higher than the $324.5 million generated by the 2017 Final Four, the last time the event was held at State Farm Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. North Carolina defeated Gonzaga in that title game.

Organizers in Houston, the host city of the 2023 Final Four, estimated the economic damage to the city at $270 million, but did not release any figures after the event.

Arizona will host the 2026 Women’s Final Four at the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix, home of the Phoenix Suns.

Arizona benefits from major sporting events

The economic impact of the 2024 Final Four on Arizona compares positively to the impact the state receives from the 2023 Cactus League, according to a study by the Seidman Institute.

According to a study published in 2023, the 15 Major League Baseball teams that hold their spring training at ten venues in the Phoenix area contributed $418.5 million to Arizona’s gross domestic product.

The Final Four researchers compiled their findings after conducting individual interviews with 1,140 out-of-state visitors who responded that they were in Arizona primarily for the Final Four.

The study estimated that 114,984 out-of-state visitors came to Arizona for the event. Additionally, only new dollars flowing into the state were counted. The researchers found that spending by Final Four visitors created 3,374 work years and contributed $153.2 million to Arizona’s labor income.

The study conservatively estimated that the Final Four directly generated $21.2 million in taxes — $12 million for the state of Arizona, $2.2 million for host Maricopa County and $7 million for Phoenix and surrounding communities, including host Glendale. Scottsdale hosted all four teams.

“These solid numbers are the result of strong community investment in major sporting events like the Men’s Final Four,” said Tom Sadler, CEO of the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority and co-chair of the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee.

The Final Four researchers also found:

– 68,742 visitors from Arizona had tickets to at least the semifinals. This group stayed an average of 3.9 nights and spent an average of $482.39 per day.

– 37,211 came just for the championship game, stayed an average of two nights and spent an average of $566.69 per day.

In total, the Final Four attracted 40.3 million television viewers.