EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA) continues its commitment to exploring and quantifying the intersection of sports and tourism, providing crucial data and insights that showcase the powerful impact of sports activities on local economies and communities. This year’s 2024 State of the Industry Report for Spectator Sports Tourism represents a vital expansion of that mission, one focused specifically on the growing impact of spectator sports tourism across the United States.
Produced in partnership with Tourism Economics, this landmark report provides a detailed look at the influence of non-local attendees who travel to watch professional, minor league, and collegiate regular season sporting events. Through rigorous analysis, this study captures the measurable economic contributions made by spectators, offering valuable insights for industry professionals, destination marketers, venue operators, and stakeholders alike.
This new report reveals unprecedented economic value generated by spectators—from the moment they arrive at a destination to attend a game, to their spending across hotels, restaurants, retailers, and entertainment venues. These findings underscore the increasing significance of sports as both an economic engine and a catalyst for community vitality.
*For purposes of this report, “spectator sports” includes minor league sports, professional sports, and collegiate regular season games. Adult and youth amateur events and collegiate tournaments are excluded from the analysis.
INCLUDES
Minor League Sports
Professional Sports
Collegiate Regular Season Games
ECONOMIC IMPACT AND CONTRIBUTIONS:
• $47.1 billion in direct spending by spectator sports travelers in 2024.
• A total economic impact of $114.4 billion was generated nationwide.
EXCLUDES
Adult and Youth Amateur Events
Collegiate Tournaments
• The industry supported 664,860 total jobs and delivered $8.5 billion in state and local tax revenues.
• This contribution reflects significant spending both at sports venues and across local business sectors including lodging, food & beverage, retail, recreation, and transportation.
INDUSTRY TRENDS AND DYNAMICS:
• The study recorded 109.7 million non-local attendees.
• Overnight attendees accounted for the majority of total spending, with $42.2 billion, compared to $4.9 billion from day-trippers.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS AND INSIGHTS:
• Spectator sports are shown to play a pivotal role in destination branding, community identity, and economic development.
• Local communities reap the benefits of extended stays, increased visitor spending, and stronger off-season travel demand.
• These findings are key for city planners, CVBs, and sports commissions looking to invest in sustainable sports tourism strategies.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
• The results highlight the value of investing in sports venues and infrastructure, which generate not only ticket sales but stimulate broader economic ripple effects.
• Targeted development around sports districts has become a strategic driver of tourism, especially in markets hosting minor league and collegiate sports.
STATE-LEVEL IMPACT:
• The Top 10 States generating the highest economic impact from spectator sports tourism in 2024 include: California, Texas and Florida as the leaders.
• These states serve as national benchmarks, having leveraged population centers, infrastructure, and sports assets to maximize economic return.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
• Spectator sports tourism generated a total of $17.6 billion in tax revenue
• Local governments benefited most from sales, property, and bed taxes, confirming sports events’ vital role in public funding.
This executive summary reflects just a portion of the depth provided in the full 2024 State of the Industry Report for Spectator Sports Tourism. The complete report is available exclusively to members through the Sports ETA Sports Tourism Research Institute. Members are encouraged to explore the data to better inform planning, refine strategy, and unlock the full potential of sports tourism as a major economic driver in their communities.
ABOUT SPORTS ETA
As the trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, Sports ETA is the most trusted resource for sports commissions, DMOs, and event organizers. With more than 850 member organizations and 2,400 professionals, Sports ETA provides leading education, networking, and marketing tools to grow the industry and champion its impact. Learn more at www.sportseta.org
ABOUT NORTHSTAR MEETINGS GROUP
Northstar Meetings Group is the leading B-to-B information and marketing solutions company serving all segments of the sports, business meetings, events and incentives market. The company’s audience includes full- and part-time event organizers, as well as sports, corporate, association and not-forprofit decision-makers, and incentive professionals, facilitating their professional development and achievement of business goals. The company's influential brands – SportsTravel, Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings, Associations Meetings International, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Meeting News, Incentive and M&C Asia – currently serve nearly 500,000 active meeting planners, event organizers and incentive professionals across an integrated suite of data, digital, events and print products. In addition to publishing SportsTravel, the Sports Division organizes several industry-leading conferences, including the TEAMS Conference, TEAMS Europe and the EsportsTravel Summit. For more information, please visit NorthstarMeetingsGroup.com.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH TEAM
Oxford Economics was founded in 1981 as a commercial venture with Oxford University’s business college to provide economic forecasting and modelling to UK companies and financial institutions expanding abroad. Since then, we have become one of the world’s foremost independent global advisory firms, providing reports, forecasts and analytical tools on 200 countries, 100 industrial sectors and over 3,000 cities. Our best-of-class global economic and industry models and analytical tools give us an unparalleled ability to forecast external market trends and assess their economic, social and business impact.
Oxford Economics is an adviser to corporate, financial and government decision-makers and thought leaders. Our worldwide client base comprises over 2,000 international organizations, including leading multinational companies and financial institutions; key government bodies and trade associations; and top universities, consultancies, and think tanks.
This study was conducted by the Tourism Economics group within Oxford Economics. Tourism Economics combines an understanding of traveler dynamics with rigorous economics in order to answer the most important questions facing destinations, investors, and strategic planners. By combining quantitative methods with industry knowledge, Tourism Economics designs custom market strategies, destination recovery plans, forecasting models, policy analysis, and economic impact studies.
Oxford Economics employs 600 full-time staff, including 300 professional economists and analysts. Headquartered in Oxford, England, with regional centers in London, New York, and Singapore, Oxford Economics has offices across the globe in Belfast, Chicago, Dubai, Miami, Milan, Paris, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington DC.
March 2025
All data shown in tables and charts are Tourism Economics’ own data, except where otherwise stated and cited in footnotes, and are copyright © Tourism Economics LLC.
The modelling and results presented here are based on information provided by third parties, upon which Tourism Economics has relied in producing its report and forecasts in good faith. Any subsequent revision or update of those data will affect the assessments and projections shown.
To discuss the report further please contact: Greg Pepitone: gpepitone@oxfordeconomics.com